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FPs testify before appropriations committees
By Jonathan Nelson
In yet another week of important committee meetings at the State Capitol, two family physicians provided testimony on some of TAFP’s top legislative priorities for the 86th Texas Legislature. On Monday, February 11, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Article II convened to hear testimony from agencies and the public. Article II of the state budget contains funding for all agencies and programs that fall under Texas Health and Human Services, including Medicaid, CHIP, Healthy Texas Women, the Family Planning Program, services for the aging and those with disabilities, and much more.
TMA President and former TAFP President Doug Curran, MD, of Athens, told the committee that while Texas is indeed booming with a strong economy and lots of opportunity, many of the state’s health care statistics rank well below the national average.
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Family doctors tell Senate Committee to expand access to women's health services, raise Medicaid payment rates
By Jonathan Nelson
The Texas Legislature approached full stride this week as some of its most powerful committees began hearing testimony from state agencies and the public. The Senate Finance Committee took up Article II of the state budget, which contains funding for all agencies and programs that fall under Texas Health and Human Services. That includes Medicaid, CHIP, Healthy Texas Women, the Family Planning Program, services for the aging and those with disabilities, and much more. At roughly $80 billion for the biennium, Article II accounts for more than a third of total state expenditures.
Antonio Falcon, MD, of Rio Grande City, was the first TAFP member to address the committee on Wednesday morning, February 6, advocating for one of organized medicine’s top legislative priorities, the allocation of funding to ensure competitive and appropriate Medicaid payments. Those payment rates have not been increased in a meaningful or enduring manner in nearly two decades. Yet physician practice costs have increased by about 3 percent each year.
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