Legislators and community leaders laid out a plan to focus health care reform on wellness and prevention measures at a press conference Monday held by the Texas Coalition for Worksite Wellness, of which TAFP is a member.

Several speakers emphasized the ballooning cost of health care in the public and private sectors and called for reform.

“We cannot afford to continue down the path we’re on,” Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said at the press conference. “We have to start taking personal responsibility for our lives, for our health, for our well being, and that’s what this is all about. We’re going to encourage everyone to do that.”

The coalition also released a study, “An Ounce of Prevention,” which analyzes the potential impact of prevention, wellness and smoking cessation programs on the Texas economy, the state’s employee health insurance plan, the state’s Medicaid program and Texas employers. The study reported a comprehensive wellness program for Medicaid recipients in Texas could add more than $2.7 billion in annual spending and 20,058 permanent jobs. It also estimated a similar program for state employees would provide net gains of more than $340 million and 2,400 jobs. The author of the study, economist Ray Perryman of the Perryman Group, spoke about the importance of wellness programs to decreasing costs and improving quality of life.

“There is no other solution, there is no other way to bring health care costs under control than lifestyle changes,” Perryman said. “We’re not going to do it with technology, demographics are working against us, and this is really the only solution.”

Three pieces of legislation were highlighted during the conference for their specific focus on wellness and prevention. Senate Bill 10 by Nelson would bring wellness programs into the Medicaid system, HB 1297 by Rep. Dianne Delisi, R-Temple, would create a state employee wellness program, and SB 530 by Nelson would boost the physical education requirement for children in grades K-12.

Both SB 10 and SB 530 passed the Senate and are in committee hearings in the House. SB 10 will be heard in the House Committee on Appropriations Sub Committee on Health and Human Services and SB 530 will be heard in the House Committee on Public Education.

HIT is hot topic for Public Health Committee

What electronic health records can do for medicine was the main topic of discussion at a hearing of the House Committee on Public Health last week. Chair of the House Committee on Public Health, Rep. Dianne Delisi, R-Temple, said that EHR implementation could be the next great innovation on health care with the potential to “change everything.”

“It has the potential to save literally billions of dollars; to facilitate reductions in errors, which is a topic this committee has taken up; to improve care coordination, which we discussed in the Medicaid legislation; and to help manage chronic diseases,” Chairwoman Delisi said. “It will save lives.”

House Bill 1066 by Delisi, would create a statewide network of public and private health care stakeholders to encourage the adoption of health information technology.

Joseph Perkinson, M.D., a family physician from Victoria, testified before the committee in support of HB 1066. He has used an EHR in his practice for more than 7 years and says the issue is about portability and improved care.

“I did this not because I love computers, I’ve grown to hate them, I did it because I believe there’s a better thing that we can give my patients and I work hard for them,” Perkinson said.

Delisi identified several other bills heard by the committee that address barriers to implementation. HB 3886 by Rep. Dan Gattis, R-town, would provide waivers to qualifying hospitals to adopt EHRs, with a stipulation that they must allow community-based health care providers to access the system remotely. SB 204 by Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, would ensure interoperability with the immunization registry.

“These pieces of legislation target a fragmented, piecemeal approach to the adoption of electronic health records and the inability of state programs to communicate electronically with medical care providers,” Delisi said.

HB 1066, HB 3886 and SB 204 were left pending by the committee.

“Smart card” bill passes House

The House passed House Bill 522 by Rep. Beverly Woolley, R-Houston, this week. The bill requires health plans to provide real-time electronic eligibility and benefit information on all enrolled patients. Physicians’ staff could swipe a smart card, similar to an ATM card, upon check in and receive up-to-date information on benefit coverage, co-pays, deductibles and the patient’s financial responsibility. It is now headed to the Senate for consideration.

Senate names budget conferees

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst named the five conferees from the Senate to the budget conference committee: Sens. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan; Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo; Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock; John Whitmire, D-Houston; and Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands. These five senators will join House members Reps. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa; Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown; Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City; Lois Kolkorst, R-Brenham; and Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, on the joint committee.

Thanks to this week’s Physicians of the Day

Four more volunteers needed to finish the session

Thanks to the physicians who volunteered their time this week to serve at the Texas Capitol as Physician of the Day. This week’s physicians were John Egerton, M.D., and Judith Egerton, M.D., of Austin; Henry Boehm, M.D., of Brenham; Jose Ugarte, M.D., of Kingsville; Joe Anzaldua, M.D., of Sugar Land; and Neeta Gautam, M.D., of Houston.

Don’t miss your chance to participate in the Physician of the Day program during the 80 th Legislative Session. Four spots remain in May and need to be filled as soon as possible to ensure a family physician is on the Capitol grounds each day. Open days include May 3, 8, 16 and 23. Please contact Kate McCann for more information on how to participate in this service or visit the Physician of the Day page of the TAFP Web site for an up-to-date list of open spots.