PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
2011 a success, but more work ahead
BY C. BRUCE MALONE, MD, 2011–12 TMA PRESIDENT As you can see by reading the annual report, 2011 was another very success- ful year for the Texas Medi- cal Association. We accom- plished a lot for physicians and our patients at a time when we all needed it the most. We had continued growth in membership off- set by the worst financial crisis facing Texas for de- cades and irrational cuts in health care spending for the safety net. We cannot rest until those cuts are re- versed. We still face more disruptive change in 2012 with preparations for the Patient Protection and Af- fordable Care Act. We crossed the 45,000-member thresh- old in 2011, but there are still many physicians who simply don’t understand the value of membership in TMA. My successor, Dr. Michael Speer, wants to reach 50,000 members in 2012. Let’s help him meet that goal. Talk to your col- leagues who are not mem- bers. Tell them why you joined TMA, explain to them what we do for them and their patients, and urge them to join us. If they do not want to spend their time helping TMA, at least they can write the check for membership. And don’t forget to urge them to join TEXPAC as well. TEX- PAC is backing some outstanding candidates in this year’s elec-
tions, many of them phy- sicians or TMA Alliance members. Getting them elected will pay off in next year’s session of the Texas Legislature.
2011–12 TMA President C. Bruce Malone, MD, unveiled some sobering numbers about Texas physicians’ participation in Medicare during an Austin news conference in October. He released the results of a TMA survey showing 50 percent of Texas doctors are considering leaving Medicare because of uncertainty over fees.
The challenges we face in 2012 are primarily be- cause of misguided state and federal policies that threaten patients’ access to care and our ability to remain in practice. The state is trying to save money by cutting re- imbursement for treating poor and elderly patients who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, the so-called “dual eli- gibles.” Our most vulner- able patients are fright- ened, and their physicians, especially those in South Texas, have been forced to borrow money or use their savings just to stay in prac- tice. This is unsustainable. We must convince state of- ficials to rescind the cuts for our colleagues whose patients are in danger of losing access.
And once again in 2011, as they have for more than
a decade, Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) put physicians and patients through a gut- wrenching experience by threatening us with drastic cuts in Medicare payments. In 2012, we must redouble our efforts to convince Congress to stop the partisan bickering and do what it should have done years ago — repeal the Sustainable
June 2012 TEXAS MEDICINE 27
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