Be a Lobbyist for a Day! Volunteer to make a difference for your patients, your profession

by Tracy Casto, DCMS director of public affairs

Are soaring liability insurance premiums and slow pay/no pay managed care plans putting a crimp in your ability to care for patients? Then it’s time for you to do something about it!

The 78th Texas Legislature, which convenes Jan 14, may be the most important session ever for Medicine. It will provide an historic opportunity to enact effective liability reform and prompt pay laws. But these goals can be achieved only with the involvement of individual physicians.

DCMS and TMA are offering two exciting programs for you to be a medical lobbyist for a day.

First, the DCMS Legislative Visit Program is recruiting physicians and Alliance members to spend one weekday at the Capitol during the session, which runs through May. In partnership with other medical societies across the state, DCMS will coordinate physician visits every week during the session—talking with legislators about issues that affect you and your patients. Slots are available any day of the week.

Second, TMA and the TMA Alliance have developed “First Tuesdays at the Capitol,” a statewide grassroots lobby program. Physicians and Alliance members will descend on the Capitol on the first Tuesday of each month of the session to visit with lawmakers about tort reform, prompt pay, and other critical healthcare issues. First Tuesday visits will be Feb. 4, March 4, April 1, and May 6. TMA Public Affairs and TEXPAC staff will train you and brief you before your visit.

You don’t have to know all the details of the issues you’ll be discussing with legislators; the most important information you can communicate is how these issues affect your practice. Relay the impact of frivolous lawsuits, reimbursement struggles, and the impact of underfunding in public sector programs. 

Physicians across the state will have to actively work to secure passage of legislation that will avert the threats that face the practice of medicine. The days of entrusting the job to the few physicians willing to do the work have passed—the task is far greater than they can bear. You can be certain that trial lawyers and insurance company lobbyists will blanket the Capitol during session. They’ll use all their resources to weaken the impact of much-needed liability reform and fair payment practice legislation. Physicians must make time to make their voices heard.

The 78th Legislature could be a great session for Texas physicians, but it won’t happen without your active grassroots involvement. Who better to deliver medicine’s message than medical doctors?

To schedule your day to visit the Capitol, contact Tracy Casto, DCMS public affairs director, at 214-948-3622 or Tracy@Dallas-cms.org.

You also may decide to participate in critical hearings that will take place during the session. Notice of these hearings is included in the daily TMA Legislative Update. To request these updates contact Tracy Casto.

In preparation for your legislative meetings: ü Prepare a list of malpractice premium increases over the last decade. ü Share information about the impact of frivolous lawsuits on your practice. ü Collect examples of loopholes that insurance companies use to withhold and delay payment. Be sure to mark out patient identifying information. ü Know how much money the insurance companies owe you over 60 days. ü Share the impact of current reimbursement for public sector programs (Medicaid and CHIP), especially if you have chosen not to see patients because of the reimbursement and managed care hassle. ü Tell your legislator about the charity care you provide.