nization, ICD-11 is due for completion in 2017.
Baytown family physician Richard
Demmler, MD, took it a step further. “ICD-10 shouldn’t be used for bill- ing purposes in this country, and we shouldn’t encourage implementation of ICD-11 either,” he said. Congress gave physicians nation- wide a one-year reprieve from ICD-10 on March 31, when the Senate final- ized passage of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act. The bill narrowly averted a drastic 24-percent cut to Medicare phy- sician payments and pushed the ICD-10 implementation deadline one year to Oct. 1, 2015. This represents the third ICD-10 deadline extension. In January 2009, CMS pushed the
ICD-10 implementation date from Oct. 1, 2011, to Oct. 1, 2013. Then, in No- vember 2011, TMA delegates convinced AMA’s House of Delegates to publicly op- pose ICD-10. As a result, AMA approved a resolution urging CMS not to adopt ICD-10 at all because of its “bureaucratic and financial burden on physicians,” say- ing it would force many small practices to shut their doors. After AMA passed its resolution, CMS delayed implementation for another year, pushing the new deadline to this October.
In addition to debating ICD-10, del- egates also:
• Called for changes in the Affordable Care Act to prevent recoupment of payments to physicians made during the ACA grace period when physi- cians have not received adequate no- tice that the patient has not paid his or her premiums;
• Adopted resolutions to fight air pollu- tion and improve immunization rates;
• Said Congress should permanently adopt Medicare payment parity for Medicaid services provided by pri- mary care physicians and extend that parity to all other specialties;
• Directed TMA to work with other or- ganizations to “aggressively pursue the reduction or elimination of as much of the documentation burden as possible”;
• Established new TMA policy on the 8 TEXAS MEDICINE July 2014
number of attempts and amount of time allotted for passage of medical licensing exams;
• Called for insurance companies to provide real-time adjudication of claims;
• Approved a phased-in dues increase of up to $12 per year for five years; and
• Rejected a proposal to eliminate TMA’s International Medical Gradu- ate Section.
Dr. King takes office as TMA president
Abilene otolaryngologist Austin King, MD, became the 149th TMA president at TexMed 2014 in Fort Worth on May 3. A past president of the Taylor-Jones-
Haskell County Medical Society, Dr. King was a member of the TMA Board of Trustees from 2007 to 2012 and a member of the TMA Foundation Board
of Trustees from 2004 to 2008. He also served as chair of the TMA Council on Legislation, TEXPAC executive board member, board liaison to the Texas Medical Liability Trust, and a member of numerous other committees. “I am honored to lead and advocate
on behalf of the more than 47,000 physi- cians of TMA,” Dr. King said. “I look for- ward to working with our members to find ways to improve Texas’ health care.” During his installation speech, he ac- knowledged the intrusions on the physi- cian-patient relationship. “Physicians and patients both are chal- lenged by a dysfunctional health system, which tends to drive us apart,” he said. “It is only by working together that pa- tients and their physicians can improve the system and make it work.” He also spoke of the privilege of prac- ticing medicine.
“Society grants our profession privileg- es it grants no other. It’s easy to forget how privileged we are due to all of the red-tape hassles we encounter. But I still think it’s a privilege to be a doctor. I’m a miracle worker,” he said. Dr. King lists two primary priorities during his presidential term:
1. Promote and enhance public percep- tion of Texas physicians and TMA.
2. Increase physician involvement in the local community.
He plans to elevate public percep-
Austin King, MD, addresses the TMA House of Delegates after taking office as TMA president. In his installation address, he stressed a physician “always needs to be able to do what’s best for the patient” and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to represent “the most organized, most powerful state medical society in the country.”
tion of organized medicine by further promoting the good works TMA and the TMA Foundation do, increasing financial support for TEXPAC, and meeting with professional groups all over the state to find common ground. He says these ef- forts will elevate TMA’s prominence and make the association more effective. He says he’ll also use TMA’s trusted leader initiatives to promote and en- hance public perception of Texas physi- cians and TMA. Those projects showcase Texas physicians and TMA standing up for patients on health care policy mat- ters; engage local and state business leaders in health care discussions with physicians; explain why businesses should care about the issues; build on and expand TMA’s patient-centered ac-
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