9/15/2023
Everyone over 6 months is eligible for an updated Covid-19 vaccine this fall. We have frustratingly scarce scientific guidance on timing.
9/15/2023
During this COCA Call, CDC presenters will provide updates about the latest recommendations and clinical considerations for administering influenza, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines to adults 60 years and older.
9/15/2023
Following successful physician advocacy during the 2023 legislative session, the attached Medicaid rates increases are now reflected for women’s health services.
9/8/2023
Practices that used Mimecast's secure message portal to submit claims issues, questions, or appeals to Humana between July 17 and Aug. 28 will need to resubmit those reports due to a technical error.
9/8/2023
The upcoming COVID-19 booster is expected to be available in the United States as early as next week -- potentially as soon as Sept. 13 -- and is expected to protect against severe disease and death from currently circulating variants.
9/8/2023
Since the last BA.2.86 update, lab and epidemiological data have trickled in. Many of us took a big sigh of relief after seeing specific results over the weekend.
9/1/2023
Your Local Epidemiologist answers a few of the questions that have hit their inbox over the past few days regarding COVID-19, flu, RSV, the vaccines for all, and their availability.
9/1/2023
Behavioral health and chronic conditions are the primary diagnoses associated with in-person follow-ups for the same clinical reason after a telehealth visit.
9/1/2023
Texas payers After a pandemic-induced hiatus, the Texas Medical Association recently resumed in-person meetings with Texas’ major payers to solve physicians’ payment policy problems, a practice that dates back more than 25 years.
8/25/2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released draft guidance for comment that outlines the requirements and procedures for certain aspects of the new Medicare Prescription Payment Plan.
8/25/2023
The approval allows the vaccine to be given to women 32 to 36 weeks into a pregnancy to prevent lower respiratory tract infection and severe disease in infants until they are six months old, the company said.
8/25/2023
SARS-CoV-2 continues to mutate. This is expected, as this is what viruses do to survive. There was ~20% possibility of another “Omicron-like event” in 2023.
8/18/2023
Wondering where your 5% incentive payment is for participating in an advanced alternative payment model (APM) in the 2021 Quality Payment Program (QPP)?
8/18/2023
New covid booster shots with an updated formula targeting XBB subvariants of the virus is expected to hit the market in late September, pending regulatory approvals by the Food and Drug Administration.
8/18/2023
Physicians have long complained about onerous prior authorization requirements, which often delay care and sometimes have catastrophic consequences. Medicine's advocacy for improvements seems to be paying off.
8/11/2023
The pill, zuranolone (Zurzuvae), is a neuroactive steroid that acts on GABAA receptors in the brain responsible for regulating mood, arousal, behavior, and cognition, according to Biogen, which, along with Sage Therapeutics, developed the product.
8/11/2023
DCHHS does not disclose additional information about the patient. This is the second WNV human death reported in Texas this year.
8/11/2023
Statement by Rick W. Snyder II, MD, Texas Medical Association (TMA) president, in response to the ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on TMA’s fourth No Surprises Act lawsuit.
8/4/2023
Presenters will give a comprehensive overview of timing and promotion of vaccines people should receive during pregnancy to protect themselves, their pregnancies, and their babies. Date: Thursday, August 10, 2023; Time: 2-3 PM ET.
8/4/2023
DCMS recently partnered with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to host a webinar that provides the information physicians and their staff need to help patients through this process.
8/4/2023
Federal lawmakers are pushing forward a bipartisan bill that would force some Medicare insurers to speed up their prior authorization decisions, but it may ultimately conflict with separate rules set by the agency that oversees Medicare.
7/28/2023
If the plan is enacted, it could help end decades of whack-a-mole between government regulators and insurance companies.
7/28/2023
Continuous Medicaid coverage ended in April. Many of the roughly half-million people stripped from the rolls don’t even know they’ve lost coverage yet.
7/28/2023
Vaccine fatigue is already here, although many Americans will be urged to get three different shots this fall.
7/21/2023
Half a million Texans — mainly children, but also disabled adults and women who recently gave birth — have lost coverage since then, leaving them in limbo without access to medical treatment.
7/21/2023
Change is already on the horizon and many developments have left many wondering (and sometimes worrying) what role AI will have in the future of health care.
7/21/2023
Under the management and oversight of CDC, the Bridge Access Program – for a limited time – will allow adults who are uninsured or underinsured to receive free COVID-19 vaccinations.
7/7/2023
New bipartisan legislation would provide new Medicare-supported graduate medical education (GME) slots—and mitigate the 124,000-physician shortfall set to rock the U.S. by 2034.
7/7/2023
The FY 2024 ICD-10-CM Coding Guidelines and FY 2024 Conversion Table are now available online. The FY 2024 Present on Admission (POA) Exempt Code List will be posted when available.
7/7/2023
Whether you have symptoms or not, repeat testing after 48 hours may be required to rule out COVID infection, researchers from the UMass Chan Medical School found.
6/30/2023
CDC is collaborating with the Texas and Florida state health departments with ongoing investigations of locally acquired mosquito-transmitted Plasmodium vivax malaria cases. There is no evidence to suggest the cases in the two states are related.
6/30/2023
Texas physicians have not seen a Medicaid payment increase in more than a decade, except for a brief, temporary one that took place in 2013-14 under the Affordable Care Act.
6/30/2023
advocates see the price discrepancies as an inefficiency that needs fixing, while hospital advocates say reimbursement reductions would devastate the care they provide.
6/23/2023
While the goal of upgrading the state’s vaccine registry was overshadowed by efforts to undermine existing vaccine laws, TMA successfully fended off nearly 40 bills that threatened to erode access to routine childhood vaccinations.
6/23/2023
In April, Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) began the process of redetermining Medicaid eligibility for all 5.9 million enrollees — a process that extends over the next year.
6/23/2023
The 2023 scorecard, which uses most-recently-available 2021 data, does not include data to reflect the implications of abortion restrictions or bans that states enacted after the fall of Roe vs. Wade in June of last year.
6/2/2023
HHSC will hold a hybrid public forum to present updates on the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program (THTQIP) 1115 demonstration and receive public comment.
6/2/2023
Physicians who must register or renew their registration for a Drug Enforcement Administration license will face a new requirement as of June 27.
6/2/2023
Patients and health care professionals should understand that the agency does not review compounded versions of these drugs for safety, effectiveness, or quality.
5/5/2023
Dallas cardiologist Rick Snyder, MD, a long-time champion of organized medicine, knows how vital physician advocacy is to the heartbeat of the profession. He's made it a top priority for his presidency, which begins at TexMed this month.
5/5/2023
Today the World Health Organization declared the end of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). This is a huge moment in our story arc of the fight against COVID-19.
5/5/2023
We need your help to act NOW to stop another very dangerous scope-of-practice expansion bill, House Bill 2553. We must urge House representatives to VOTE NO on this bill.
4/28/2023
Building on years of TMA advocacy, two House committees cleared a pair of bills that would strengthen existing state laws and regulations by further easing health plans’ onerous prior authorization requirements.
4/28/2023
Applications are due Friday, June 16th, and applicants will be notified of their status in August. The first class will be held in-person in Austin on October 27-28, 2023.
4/28/2023
The registration window for MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs) – a new, optional reporting framework that ties measures and activities to a specific specialty or condition – is now open through Nov. 30.
4/21/2023
The Texas House recently voted 136-10 to approve a record-breaking $302.6 billion state budget, which includes increased funding for several of the Texas Medical Association’s legislative priorities.
4/21/2023
With a number of hot topics on the floor, including some lively panel discussions, physicians have a unique opportunity to stay up to date on a changing medical landscape.
4/21/2023
An expert panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccination policy informally endorsed a plan Wednesday to offer an additional Covid-19 booster shot to people 65 and older as well as people who are immunocompromised.
4/14/2023
We need to enlist your help NOW to stop a very dangerous scope expansion bill – House Bill 4404. The House Public Health Committee will hear the bill on Monday.
4/14/2023
The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug more than two decades ago. But that approval was cast into doubt with a decision on Friday.
4/14/2023
It’s not clear how many people will lose access to the federal health insurance program because they are no longer eligible under Texas’ more restrictive pre-pandemic rules.
3/31/2023
A federal judge in Texas on Thursday blocked Obamacare's mandate that health insurance plans cover preventive care, including pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV (PrEP) and screenings for cancer, diabetes and depression at no cost to patients.
3/31/2023
Starting April 1, 2023, Medicaid members will receive renewal packets or requests for information with 30 days to respond. These notices will be mailed in a yellow envelope that says “Action Required” in red.
3/31/2023
After attempting to suspend some payment determinations pending in the federal No Surprises Act independent dispute resolution process, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced in late February that it would resume the process.
3/24/2023
Registration is now open for this great event happening Saturday, May 6, 2023. Take advantage of early bird pricing by registering no later than Friday, April 7 at 11:59pm CT.
3/10/2023
Join us in this interactive Q&A session as TMA staff speakers discuss how best to prepare your practice for upcoming changes, including Medicaid coverage, telehealth, and COVID vaccines and treatments.
3/10/2023
DCMS physicians and staff were in Austin this week for First Tuesday, advocating for important legislative issues alongside TMA.
3/10/2023
Established in 2017, the Family of Funds serves as the umbrella for TMAF funds and endowments that support the charitable health improvement and education goals of TMA.
2/24/2023
The physician organizations sent a letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure thanking her and urging the agency to finalize proposed reforms that target the inappropriate use of prior-authorization requirements by Medicare Advantage plans.
2/24/2023
On February 9, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 will end on May 11, 2023.
2/24/2023
The COVID-19 public health emergency is set to end on May 11, after which some telehealth flexibilities will phase out. This TMA chart helps you understand which waivers will end when, and what that means for your practice.
2/17/2023
The process, called COVID Open Ordering, allows practices to order multiple categories of vaccines together, rather than having to place separate orders for each vaccine brand and type.
2/17/2023
Multiple federal agencies are working on food is medicine projects, major organizations have pledged hundreds of millions in research funding, and billions more are being invested in food-focused startups.
2/17/2023
At least two bills have TMA on notice for threats that aim to weaken Texas’ landmark 2003 medical liability reforms meant to protect access to care and patient safety.
2/10/2023
The Texas Medical Association is moving to a new email platform. Please help us ensure TMA emails arrive in your inbox and not in your spam folder.
2/10/2023
The Texas Medical Association is pleased by U.S. District Court ruling granting summary judgment motion. Read the full statement from TMA President Gary W. Floyd, MD.
2/10/2023
The Biden administration will end the federal Covid-19 public health emergency declaration on May 11, bringing an end to some of the free services that lawmakers had guaranteed patients in various Covid-19 relief laws.
2/3/2023
CDC laboratory testing identified the presence of the outbreak strain in opened EzriCare bottles with different lot numbers collected from two states.
2/3/2023
This TMA lawsuit against federal agencies challenges a steep administrative fee hike that will strip many physicians and health care providers of the arbitration process that Congress enacted.
2/3/2023
The move would formally restructure the federal coronavirus response to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health that can be managed through agencies’ normal authorities.
1/27/2023
The task force introduced two new topics for preventive care and assigned new grades to two sets of preventive care strategies.
1/27/2023
The CDC presented data that is not surprising: most hospitalizations and deaths occur among older adults. Interestingly, children under 6 months are being hospitalized at about the same rates as those aged 50-64 years.
1/27/2023
The Biden-Harris Administration has made expanding access to health insurance and lowering health care costs for America’s families a top priority.
1/20/2023
If you are interested in serving on a reference committee, complete the online Reference Committee Interest Form by Friday, Feb. 24. Volunteers will meet at least once virtually in executive session between May 1 & May 12 to review online testimony.
1/20/2023
During this COCA Call, subject matter experts will provide an overview of COVID-19 epidemiology and the current variant landscape, and much more. Registration is not required.
1/20/2023
One “reason for implementing the changes is physician and clinician burnout,” said Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, as current prior authorization “causes delays and sometimes results in patients abandoning care."
12/23/2022
“We are, once again, asking for the law to be followed as Congress intended, and for the challenged provisions to be invalidated. There should be a level playing field for physicians and health care providers in payment disputes after they’ve cared f
12/23/2022
The Department of Education finalized a rule that allows physicians working in states where they cannot be directly employed by hospitals or other health care facilities to be eligible for the public service loan forgiveness program (PSLF) if they wo
12/23/2022
The percentage of outpatient visits to health care providers that were for respiratory illnesses declined for a second week in a row, CDC’s weekly influenza report, FluView, showed.
12/16/2022
The move is designed to give physicians more flexibility in protecting patients against COVID. The Pfizer vaccine traditionally has been offered in multi-dose vials.
12/16/2022
Despite ongoing litigation over certain aspects of the No Surprises Act, many of the patient protection components still took effect in 2022.
12/16/2022
The ADA Professional Practice Committee (PPC) updates the Standards of Care annually and strives to include discussion of emerging clinical considerations in the text.
12/9/2022
“More children now have the opportunity to update their protection against COVID-19 with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, and we encourage parents and caregivers of those eligible to consider doing so – especially as we head into the holidays and winter
12/9/2022
Senator Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, will be the next Texas Secretary of State, according to an announcement today from Governor Greg Abbott.
12/9/2022
TMA urges your active participation in this crucial advocacy effort. Unless Congress acts now, you and many of our colleagues face another big cut to your Medicare payments on Jan. 1.
12/2/2022
The Texas Medical Association announced it has filed a new lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, challenging certain portions of the Aug. 26, 2022, final rules implementing the federal No Surprises Act (NSA).
12/2/2022
Preferentially prescribe amoxicillin tablets, capsules, or chew tabs for children able to take these formulations.
12/2/2022
COVID-19 seems to be on the verge of exploding in China. They are reporting record-high numbers—nearly 40,000 new infections per day. The biggest concern is China’s incomplete immunity wall when faced with infections.
11/18/2022
Help, not discipline. That's the goal of this confidential Texas Medical Board program when an addictive disorder or another behavioral health problem impairs the physician’s ability to practice medicine.
11/18/2022
Sign up to volunteer on December 3rd and/or 4th to provide these crucial medical services to our community.
11/18/2022
The possibility of a winter surge in COVID cases and the need for more time to transition out of the public health emergency to a private market were two factors that contributed to the decision not to end the emergency status in January, one of the
11/11/2022
TMA created this toolkit to empower physicians, county medical societies, and TMA Alliance members with the information they need to stop the Medicare physician pay cut. TMA urges your active participation in this crucial advocacy effort.
11/11/2022
During this COCA call, the presenter will discuss CDC recommendations, implementation principles, and approaches to maximize benefits and minimize risks when starting, continuing, or discontinuing opioids for pain.
11/11/2022
Read more from the TMLT Risk Management Department on how to de-escalate angry patients or how to diffuse a tense situation in the office.
11/4/2022
This new round of cuts totals 8.5%, by chipping away 4.5% from the Medicare conversion factor on top of a 4% Medicare cut stemming from the Statutory Pay‐As‐You‐Go (PAYGO) Act (sequestration).
11/4/2022
Sign up to volunteer on December 3rd and/or 4th to provide these crucial medical services to our community.
11/4/2022
In the first 90 days of the baby’s life, the vaccine was 81% effective at preventing severe lower respiratory tract infections that require hospitalization or assisted breathing, Pfizer said.
10/28/2022
Physicians have long worried about the legal consequences of COVID-19 and whether lawsuits might arise from the care that was provided or that was delayed by the pandemic.
10/28/2022
CMS is seeking public input on accessing healthcare and related challenges through the "Make Your Voice Heard" Request for Information.