VIDEO HIGHLIGHT
In TMA’s Legislative News Hotline video for April 10, 2015:
- TMA physician leaders Scott Holliday, DO, and Isabel Menendez, MD, talk about why bills to force new balance-billing limits and rules would be bad for medical practices … and patients;
- The Senate passes a bill to eliminate the cumbersome process of obtaining a controlled-substances registration permit;
- Graduate medical education expansion takes a big step forward;
- A proposal to arm schools with a device that could save young lives advances; and
- Corpus Christi resident physician Heather Aguirre, DO, describes why patients directly accessing physical therapists without a physician’s diagnosis could be harmful.
These stories and more in this week’s hotline!
UNDER THE ROTUNDA
Today was relatively quiet at the Capitol. The Senate is out until Monday, and the House handled only final passage of bills that representatives had preliminarily approved yesterday. Another busy week lies ahead for medicine. Meanwhile, keep these dates marked on your calendar to be a lobbyist for a day:
FEDERAL UPDATE
If you haven’t yet contacted U.S. Sen Ted Cruz and asked for his support of the bill to repeal Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, what are you waiting for? Congress reconvenes on Monday, and the Senate has 34 hours to pass HR 2 before the 21-percent cuts in physicians’ Medicare payments kick in for real. Get in touch with Senator Cruz today by:
Been hearing some uninformed pushback on HR 2 from Internet trolls? Check out TMA’s Top 10 Myths About the SGR Repeal Bill.
PHYSICIAN OF THE DAY
The physician of the day at the Capitol is Carolyn Eaton, MD, of San Antonio. Dr. Eaton graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. She is a member of TMA and the Bexar County Medical Society.
WHAT WE ARE READING
'Doc fix' still on track despite two weeks to lose steam ― Modern Healthcare
Texas Medical Board poised to vote on telemedicine rules ― The Austin American-Statesman
VA Makes Little Progress In Trimming Wait Times ― KWTX
Four largest states have sharp disparities in access to health care ― The Los Angeles Times
Texas Legislator Introduces Bill to Encourage HPV Vaccinations ― Rambler Newspapers
