Flanked by physicians who treat Medicaid patients, TMA Immediate Past President Austin I. King, MD, declares at a press conference in February that boosting Medicaid pay, cutting administrative hassles, and improving access to care for low-income adults are critical to the program’s viability and patients’ health.
“You can talk about the many different ways of delivering medical care. But if you don’t have the physicians to do it, it’s moot.”
Graduate medical education (GME) expansion is a prime example, says TMA Immediate Past President Austin I. King, MD. The issue was medicine’s top pri- ority in 2015, and thanks to years of advocacy, it was top of mind for lawmakers, too, for the second leg- islative session in a row. “We pushed for it, and we got it done. Everything else is secondary.
You can talk about the many different ways of delivering medical care. But if you don’t have the physicians to do it, it’s moot,” Dr. King said. After increasing GME funding levels in 2013, the Texas Leg-
islature infused another $40 million into expanding residency training this session, which could help create 200 or more new positions for medical school graduates on their way to becoming physicians in the nation’s fastest-growing state. TMA and Texas medical schools lit the fire last session, build-
ing relationships with and convincing leaders like former Senate Finance Committee Chair Sen. Tommy Williams (R-The Wood- lands), who understood that without boosting funding, “we would not be able to keep our students here to be trained and would lose them to other states,” Dr. King said. Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound), who took over this ses-
sion as head of the Senate Finance Committee, and House Higher Education Chair Rep. John Zerwas, MD (R-Richmond), carried the GME torch, making it a priority for the 2016–17 budget and pushing for a bill that will turn the new money into another host of expansion programs. That kind of commitment, Dr. King says, “is a win for everyone: physicians, our patients, and the state of Texas.”
GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY PAYS OFF As this article went to press, a majority of TMA’s priority bills ei- ther became law or were on their way to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for signature following House and Senate approval. Important milestones for Texas physicians include:
• Another significant expansion of GME funding and resident training positions and more money for women’s health and mental health services;
• Fairer rules governing Medicaid fraud investigations; August 2015 TEXAS MEDICINE 27
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