Keep the momentum going

The Legislative Session we’ve just completed is the culmination of two years’ hard work that began with the 2006 election cycle. With the help and support of our members, we helped elect legislators who understand our issues and share our vision for health care in Texas. Because of the relationships we’ve built with these legislators, we had influence in this year’s Legislature to make improvements in patient care, access to care and other health system reforms.

Our members worked closely with the Academy’s advocacy department to determine a set of goals that became the foundation for the bills we filed during the session. I can’t give enough praise to the Academy leadership for their dedication and willingness to come to Austin to testify before House and Senate committees on a number of topics, from Medicaid reimbursement to the dangers of expanding the authority of nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Our advocacy staff is incredibly effective and works hard to represent family medicine, but the fact is no amount of lobbying can match the power of grass roots participation. Legislators listen to their constituents, and they will especially listen to the family doctors who tell them what it’s really like to practice medicine in Texas.

I also want to thank all the TAFP members who served as Physicians of the Day, especially those who hadn’t served before or those who served on short notice. This service is an especially important advocacy tool to get our doctors in front of the legislators doing what they do best—caring for Texans.

While it would be easy to step back and take a break, we’ve got to keep our momentum going and build on what we’ve accomplished. Next session will be even tougher than this one for family medicine. The trial lawyers will try to make wholesale changes to our tort reforms by chipping away at our previous successes. Scope of practice will be an all-out rumble as a moratorium on this type of legislation expires and makes anything game for filing. We’ll see nurse practitioners and physician assistants trying to expand their ability to practice in areas where it’s not safe for our patients. It’s our job to protect patients and promote the significance of physician-directed care. And, while we made some real progress this time around on Medicaid reimbursement, we’re still not on par with Medicare, so there’s a lot of work to do there. We’ve got to move forward for adults and seniors as well as continue to fight the battle for our children because it’s just the right thing to do.

I encourage you to stay current on the issues we’ll see next session and in the interim by reading the Academy news and advocacy updates—in TEXAS FAMILY PHYSICIAN, QuickInfo e-newsletter and the news pages of www.tafp.org.

The two-year cycle starts over now, and it really gets going at our Annual Session in Corpus Christi. That’s where we’ll begin to set the goals for the legislative interim and the next session. At this meeting and at TAFP’s Interim Session in March 2008 we’ll develop our top priorities and focus our efforts to provide an effective, unified front for the specialty. Without the work of the Commission on Legislative and Public Affairs, the Academy would be a rudderless ship. We need our members engaged and involved to steer us in the correct direction for our continued success at the state Capitol.

Another way to get involved is through the TAFP Political Action Committee. Go to the Web site, www.tafppac.org, and view the TAFPPAC video. It provides a great snapshot of some of our victories and the challenges that lie ahead.

I’ve greatly enjoyed serving as your president this past year. I couldn’t have had a successful year without the help of the other TAFP officers and Academy staff. The end of this year will see the retirement of longtime executive director, Jim White. His leadership over the last quarter century has provided great gains for the Academy that will serve us well over the coming years. If you would like to honor and thank him for his tireless work on the Academy’s behalf, consider donating to the TAFP Foundation scholarship in his name, the Jim and Karen White Leadership Scholarship. Contact Kathy McCarthy at TAFP headquarters for more information on how to donate or go to the Foundation Web site, www.tafp.org/Foundation.htm.

When I pass the presidential gavel to Linda Siy, M.D., of Fort Worth, I have full faith that the Academy is in good hands. She has been an outstanding leader for the Academy and will no doubt be an excellent president. With her leadership, she and the other officers will keep TAFP on the right course to champion family medicine. I can’t wait to see what’s ahead.