By Anticipate Joy

Spring is fast approaching! The change in season inspires motivation for a refreshing change in our environments and moods. Spring is often associated with cleaning and re-organization of our homes, but today we would like to encourage thoughtful consideration to set aside time to declutter your mind. By getting rid of stress, anxiety, racing thoughts, or negativity that you may be holding on to, you create a refreshing space for peace, joy, and enjoyment to settle in, and we have the perfect strategy to help. We would like to feature a couple of mindfulness strategies to help you gain greater perspective and peace of mind.

So what is mindfulness? Mindfulness is an integrative mind-body strategy to help manage your thoughts, feelings, and mental health. Research shows mindfulness helps relieve stress, treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep, and improve mental health. Here are a couple of easy ways to tap into mindfulness.

By AAFP’s Federal Advocacy Team

Family physicians will play critical role in PHE unwinding

Why it matters:

President Biden announced that the public health emergency will end May 11. This will trigger the end of many emergency waivers and flexibilities that physicians, patients, and other stakeholders have become accustomed to. While AAFP has been expecting and preparing for the end of the PHE, we’re committed to working with federal policymakers and our members to ensure the smoothest possible transition.  

By Jonathan Nelson

Two key legislative committees heard testimony this week about items in the state budget that directly affect access to care. The Senate Finance Committee took up Article II of the budget, which contains funding for all the state’s health care programs. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Article III heard testimony from the state’s health-related institutions, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and parties interested in medical education.

TAFP member Jackson Griggs, MD, CEO of Waco Family Medicine, testified before both committees. First he spoke to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Article III, calling for the restoration of funding to the Family Practice Residency Program, a budget strategy administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that funds family medicine residencies. Although the number of family medicine residents continues to increase year over year, the amount of THECB funding for those residents has withered, dropping from $14,300 per resident in 2011 to less than $4,800 in 2022. Restoring that funding is one of TAFP’s top priorities in the 88^th Texas Legislature. (Read TAFP’s issue brief on family medicine residency funding.)

By Jonathan Nelson

The Senate Finance Committee met Tuesday, February 7, to hear testimony on Article III of the state budget, which contains all funding for graduate medical education. Two TAFP members traveled to Austin to provide testimony on what happened to be the Texas Medical Association’s primary-care-focused First Tuesday, when physicians from across the state wear their white coats to advocate for health care policy at the Capitol.

TAFP President Emily Briggs, MD, MPH, of New Braunfels called on the Legislature to restore funding to the Family Practice Residency Program, a budget strategy administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that funds family medicine residencies. Although the number of family medicine residents continues to increase year over year, the amount of THECB funding for those residents has withered, dropping from $14,300 per resident in 2011 to less than $4,800 in 2022. Restoring that funding is one of TAFP’s top priorities in the 88^th Texas Legislature. (Read TAFP’s issue brief on family medicine residency funding.)

By Emily Briggs, MD, MPH, TAFP President, and Christy Francis, TORCH Board Chair

Texas’ rural health care system is in serious trouble. The numerous problems plaguing rural health are well-documented and have been described as a succession of bad situations that are getting worse. They demand the Legislature’s immediate attention.

Rural Texans are older, sicker, poorer, and less likely to be insured than the average Texan. Rural hospitals, physician practices, and community clinics face significant financial distress and a constant risk of closure due to high uncompensated care costs and unsustainably low reimbursement rates.

By Sherri Onyiego, MD, PhD, FAAFP

Today, primary care physicians are constantly on the move keeping pace with jam-packed daily schedules and facing ongoing challenges including an expanding panel, patient satisfaction/retention, reduced reimbursement, the moving target of industry mandates governing billing, coding, and documentation, and a host of pressures contributing to burnout.

With everything on their plate, adopting and adapting to value-based care, and the transition from traditional fee-for-service models to value-based contracting can be especially daunting. For those practices treating underserved populations with often the most complex patients, this is even more true.

By Samantha White

With the 88th Texas Legislature underway this week, we wanted to make sure you didn’t miss out on some exciting opportunities for family docs to take part in this session. Whether you’re new to Texas politics or have spent time in the Capitol in sessions past, here are a few ways you can be a part of history and advocate for family medicine.

Serve as Physician of the Day

By AAFP’s Federal Advocacy Team

The 2023 Medicare physician fee schedule includes a significant reduction to the Medicare conversion factor, which, absent congressional action, will result in approximately 4.5% in payment cuts for all Part B clinicians beginning January 1. These cuts, coupled with rising practice costs due to inflation and Medicare sequestration, are untenable and will place additional strain on primary care practices. 

Family physicians cannot afford to take a pay cut in 2023, and patients deserve consistent access to high-quality primary care. We are urging Congress to act before the end of year to protect physicians and patient access.