Contents tagged with legislature
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Physician of the Day - Frequently Asked Questions
Physician of the Day
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I eligible to participate as Physician of the Day?
Only family physicians with a valid unrestricted Texas medical license and who are members … more
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Physician of the Day
Physician of the Day
As a service to the Texas Legislature, the Texas Academy of Family Physicians provides a physician in the Capitol for legislative sessions. This tradition started in 1971 and … more
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Congress likely to approve one-year SGR extension
Congress likely to approve one-year SGR extension
posted 12.13.11
As Congress prepares to wrap up work before the holidays, there are several pending pieces of legislation that may delay their … more
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Texas gets approval for waiver to expand Medicaid managed care
Texas gets approval for waiver to expand Medicaid managed care
posted 12.13.11
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has granted Texas a waiver allowing the state to expand Medicaid … more
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HHSC proposes eliminating Medicaid payments of Medicare Part B coinsurance, deductible for dual-eligible patients
HHSC proposes eliminating Medicaid payments of Medicare Part B coinsurance, deductible for dual-eligible patients
Submit comments on the rules before Nov. 21
posted 11.16.11
As part of an effort … more
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The super charge
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, released the interim charges for the standing committees of the House of Representatives. As he said in the accompanying letter, these charges will set the stage for legislation considered during the 83rd Texas Legislature, which convenes in January 2013.
Of those that may affect family medicine, one assigned to the House Committee on Public Health stands out for its sheer immensity. It directs the committee to:
- Examine the adequacy of the primary care workforce in Texas, especially considering: the projected increase in need (from an aging population and expanded coverage through federal health care reform), and cuts to workforce-building programs such as graduate medical education and physician loan repayment programs.
- Study the potential impact of medical school innovations, new practice models, alternative reimbursement strategies, expanded roles for physician extenders, and greater utilization of telemedicine.
- Make recommendations to increase patient access to primary care and address geographic disparities.
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Texas House releases interim charges
Texas House releases interim charges
posted 11.01.11
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, has released the House interim charges for 2011-2012, tasking the standing committees to study … more
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With Texas health care in the spotlight, opportunities abound
As could be expected, Gov. Rick Perry’s decision to seek the Republican nomination for president has intensified state and national media scrutiny of Texas’ health care record, particularly regarding the uninsured, Medicaid, health care costs, and our medical liability climate.
TAFP has long been on record in our public positions—from “Fading Away” to “Fractured” to “The Primary Solution”—that starving down our primary care infrastructure and the continued fragmentation of care across the spectrum of settings transcends moral concerns and translates into very real economic consequences that threaten everyone from local taxpayers to employers and families. We have been equally ardent in our position that a vibrant primary care delivery system operating in a healthy liability climate is the solution to the crisis facing our health care delivery system.
Armed with these resources, TAFP’s physician leaders, lobby team, and advocacy staff have routinely briefed top Texas political and health care writers, as well as legislators and their staffs, particularly leading up to and during legislative sessions. Now TAFP has been called upon for similar briefings and interviews by a rapidly growing body of national writers from media outlets as diverse as CBS News, NBC News, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Kaiser Family Foundation and Politico, the Hill, and others.
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AAFP, specialty organizations develop strategy to avoid Medicare payment cut
AAFP, specialty organizations develop strategy to avoid Medicare payment cut
posted 09.13.11
AAFP met with representatives from seven medical societies and seven professional organizations last … more
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Deliberations present opportunity, risks in Medicare physician pay
Deliberations present opportunity, risks in Medicare physician pay
posted 08.23.11
Out of last month’s debate on the U.S. debt ceiling and the resulting legislation, the Budget Control Act of 2011 … more