CAPITOL UPDATE:

Perry hints at Medicaid reform plan

Texas must reform the unsustainable Medicaid program or else face economic stress, said Gov. Rick Perry at a press conference with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and other lawmakers. In his reform plan outlined in a Friday press release, Perry suggested customizing benefit packages to specific populations, assisting with enrollment in private insurance and employer-sponsored plans, and promoting health savings accounts and consumer-directed services. He also hinted at transparency initiatives: “health care is the only major sector of the economy where consumers don’t know the prices they pay nor do they have much of an incentive to care,” Perry said in a released text of remarks.

Perry also said he will announce other health care initiatives in the coming weeks, but “there is no doubt that Medicaid reform is the biggest health care challenge we face.”

Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched

For a few fleeting weeks, lawmakers, policy groups and lobbyists drooled over a projected $14.3 billion budget surplus announced by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs shortly before the 80th Legislative Session began. Lawmakers still face a surplus of new money, but after the Legislative Budget Board submitted its recommendations for how the pie should be divided—$6.9 billion to pay for local school property tax cuts for the next four years, $1.4 billion for growth in education and health care programs, $1 billion for the 2006 school finance bill, and so on—what remains is a $2.5 billion surplus to be divvied between several legislative priorities. The 2008-2009 LBB recommendation report—all 947 pages of it—is available on the Legislative Budget Board’s Web site.

House committee appointments: members waiting on pins and needles

After Lt. Governor David Dewhurst posted the Senate committee appointments last week, this week at the Capitol was filled with anticipation of the House committee appointments. However, Speaker Craddick had not posted appointments by week’s end. His spokesperson, Alexis DeLee, reported that he wanted “to make sure he has an opportunity to meet with everybody.”

* Editor's note: This story was updated Monday, Jan. 29, 2007. View the updated story here.

Eiland files bill to protect physicians from health plans’ unscrupulous practices

Rep. Craig Eiland (D-Galveston) filed House Bill 839 to prohibit third-party payers from “renting out” a physician’s contracted rates to others unless the physician specifically grants permission. The bill aims to regulate physicians’ payment relationships with entities that exist “for the sole purpose of trafficking in physician discounts,” such as insurance brokers, third-party administrators, local or regional preferred provider organizations, or self-insured employers, according to the bill. The need to regulate the trade of physician rates exists because “the unregulated secondary market in physician discounts is not only increasingly sophisticated, but has evolved in a part of the system that lacks transparency.”

Thanks to these Physicians of the Day

Thanks to Ann Trevino, M.D., Henry Boehm, M.D., Todd Thames, M.D., and Jay Gruhlkey, M.D., who each served as Physician of the Day at the Capitol. For more information on how you can serve as Physician of the Day, contact Kate McCann at TAFP. Spots are still available in February, March, April and May.

OTHER NEWS:

Nominate an outstanding physician for a 2007 TAFP award

Nominations for TAFP’s Physician of the Year Award, Physician Emeritus Award, Public Health Award, and Teaching awards are now being accepted. The deadline to nominate a peer or colleague is Feb. 2, 2007. Click here for more information about award specifications, eligibility and deadlines or contact Kathy McCarthy.

TAFP Calls for representatives to NCSC

Are you interested in representing Texas at the National Conference of Special Constituencies?

Each year, AAFP holds the NCSC in Kansas City, Missouri, and representatives from across the nation gather to discuss various issues and suggest policies and programs to AAFP. This year's conference will be May 3 - 5. Go to the AAFP Web site for more information and to register. Register by March 14 and save $55 on the registration fee.

If you are interested in being considered for one of the slots, please notify Jonathan Nelson at TAFP by February 19, 2007. Be sure to let him know which constituency you would like to represent from the list below. The TAFP Section on Special Constituencies will select representatives at the 2007 Interim Session meeting in March. Representatives' airfare is reimbursed by AAFP and TAFP reimburses up to $700 in expenses (hotel, registration, etc). Below are the five special constituency slots:

• New Physicians
• Women
• Minorities
• International Medical Graduates
• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered

Scholarships available for resident, minority to attend NCSC

In 2005 TAFP created two additional opportunities to attend NCSC with funding. One scholarship will be awarded to a third-year resident and a minority physician to attend the AAFP National Conference of Special Constituencies on May 3-5, 2007 in Kansas City. To download the application, click on the link below. Please contact Kathy McCarthy with any questions.

>> 3rd-Year Resident
>> Minority Physician

Scholarships available for AAFP Annual Leadership Forum

Leadership development is an important issue for the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. To assist in the development of future leaders, the Section on Leadership Development has created two $1,000 scholarships to aid members in attending the AAFP Annual Leadership Forum held each spring. If you are interested in attending the 2007 Annual Leadership Forum (May 4-5 in Kansas City), please review the information on AAFP's Web site and complete the application by February 2, 2007.

>> ALF Scholarship Application

ABFM summer exam registration open February 1

Online registration for the American Board of Family Medicine’s summer 2007 Certification, Recertification and Sports Medicine exams will be available starting Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007. Submit the online application and application fee before February 28 to avoid late penalties. After the 1st deadline, late fees increase until the final deadline on June 15.

For more information about deadlines and fees and to complete an online application, diplomates can log onto their Physician Portfolio on the ABFM Web site or contact the ABFM Support Center at (877) 223-7437.

Copyright 2006, Texas Academy of Family Physicians