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academy
alert
Medicaid
Budget
Debate
Scheduled
for
Next
Week
Conference
committee
to
determine
covered
services,
reimbursement
rates
Next
week,
five
state
senators
and
five
state
representatives
will
hammer
out
the
differences
between
the
House
and
Senate
versions
of
the
appropriations
bill,
Senate
Bill
1.
Article
2
of
that
bill
contains
the
expenditures
for
health
and
human
services
and
on
Friday,
April
29,
the
conference
committee
will
debate
the
final
funding
proposals
in
Article
2,
including
reimbursement
for
Medicaid
and
CHIP
as
well
as
what
services
will
be
covered.
Members
of
the
conference
committee
need
to
hear
from
the
family
physicians
of
Texas.
Call
and
fax
the
conference
committee
members
and
ask
them
to
FULLY
FUND
MEDICAID
AND
CHIP
and
to
INCREASE
REIMBURSEMENT
FOR
PHYSICIANS.
The
Senate
conferees
are
Steve
Ogden
(R-Bryan),
Robert
Duncan
(R-Lubbock),
Kip
Averitt
(R-McGregor),
Judith
Zaffirini
(D-Laredo),
and
John
Whitmire
(D-Houston).
The
House
conferees
are
Jim
Pitts
(R-Waxahachie),
Vilma
Luna
(D-Corpus
Christi),
Dan
Gattis
(R-Georgetown),
Sylvester
Turner
(D-Houston),
and
Lois
Kolkhorst
(R-Brenham).
In
a
recent
letter
to
the
chair
of
the
SB1
conference
committee,
Sen.
Steve
Ogden,
the
Primary
Care
Coalition
--
which
includes
TAFP
--
outlined
the
reasons
why
the
committee
should
take
these
actions,
pointing
out
that
reduced
access
to
primary
care
forces
people
to
seek
more
expensive
care
in
crowded
emergency
rooms.
“For
years
Texas
Medicaid
and
CHIP
physician
networks
have
been
deteriorating
at
an
alarming
rate,”
reads
the
PCC
letter.
“Primary
care
physicians
are
no
longer
able
to
keep
pace
with
the
exponential
growth
of
these
patient
populations
when
they
represent
a
significant
aggregate
economic
loss
to
their
practices.
This
is
not
merely
anecdotal.
A
recent
survey
of
Texas’
primary
care
physicians
reported
that
over
half
of
those
physicians
participating
in
the
Medicaid
program
offered
either
no
or
limited
services
to
new
Medicaid
patients.
Insufficient
reimbursement
rates
are
the
primary
reason
so
many
primary
care
physicians
have
ceased
accepting
new
Medicaid/CHIP
patients.
As
a
means
of
compensation,
Medicaid
and
CHIP
pay
woefully
less
than
all
other
payers
–
on
average
50
percent
less
than
private
insurance
and
75
percent
of
Medicare.
Our
colleagues
simply
can
no
longer
afford
this
financial
burden.”
Act
now.
For
phone
and
fax
numbers
for
members
of
the
conference
committee,
click
on
the
links
below:
click
here
for
House
Members
click
here
for
Senators
Don’t
Be
Fooled
by
Threats
of
Medicaid
Reimbursement
Cuts
For-profit
Medicaid
HMOs
attack
Integrated
Care
Management
In
an
attempt
to
derail
the
momentum
building
behind
the
Integrated
Care
Management,
or
ICM,
model
for
Medicaid
delivery,
the
Texas
Association
of
Health
Plans
has
launched
a
campaign
of
deception.
The
group
of
for-profit
HMOs
claims
that
if
legislators
approve
the
ICM
model
instead
of
expanding
the
Star+Plus
HMO-only
Medicaid
delivery
system,
cuts
to
provider
reimbursement
rates
will
be
sure
to
follow.
“This
is
a
desperate
move
full
of
lies
and
deception
by
the
health
plans,”
says
TAFP
Director
of
Legislative
Affairs,
Tom
Banning.
“Don’t
be
fooled.
Medicaid
rates
will
not
be
cut
under
the
ICM
proposal.”
If
the
Legislature
decides
to
implement
the
ICM
model,
primary
care
physicians
will
have
an
opportunity
to
demonstrate
how
a
strong
network
of
health
care
professionals
dedicated
to
primary
care
and
disease
management
can
provide
high
quality,
continual
care
for
less
money.
But
if
the
Star+Plus
HMO-only
expansion
goes
forward,
the
state’s
safety
net
hospitals
stand
to
lose
at
least
$150
million
in
federal
Medicaid
funds
over
the
biennium.
TAFP
Annual
Session
to
FEATURE
timely
topic
OF
OBESITY
Register
by
June
23
and
save
on
your
registration
fees
The
obesity
epidemic
promises
to
cost
the
state
of
Texas
billions
every
year.
The
prevalence
of
obesity
today
is
twice
what
it
was
twenty
years
ago.
This
topic
is
so
important
that
TAFP
has
asked
Jim
Hill,
Ph.D.,
the
co-founder
of
America
on
the
Move,
to
give
the
opening
keynote
address
on
Friday,
July
22.
Dr.
Hill
is
Professor
of
Pediatrics
and
Medicine
at
the
University
of
Colorado
Health
Sciences
Center
in
Denver,
Colorado.
He
also
serves
as
the
Director
of
the
Center
for
Human
Nutrition.
He
will
present
"Addressing
American
Obesity
Crisis."
On
hand
to
deliver
the
closing
keynote
address
is
AAFP
President,
Mary
Frank,
MD.
The
brochure
will
hit
your
mailbox
in
a
few
weeks,
but
you
can
read
about
annual
session
and
register
online
at:
http://www.tafp.org/programs/2005AS/default.htm
Annual
Session
will
be
at
the
Westin
Riverwalk
and
the
Henry
B.
Gonzalez
Convention
Center
in
San
Antonio
from
July
21-24.
click
here
for
more
information
and
to
register
online
Make
Your
Mark
on
Family
Medicine
Mark
your
preferences
by
May
4
We
need
your
talent
and
knowledge.
The
Texas
Academy
of
Family
Physicians
is
only
as
strong
as
its
members.
TAFP
committee
and
commission
members serve
as
the
infrastructure
of
the
Academy,
developing
policy
and
making
the
decisions
that
keep
the
organization
at
the
forefront
of
the
specialty.
Click
below
to
indicate
which
TAFP
committees
and
commissions
you
would
be
willing
to
serve.
Please
respond
by
May
4
to
ensure
that
your
request
is
reviewed
during
our
upcoming
appointment
process.
click
here
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