CAPITOL UPDATE: TAFP issues Action Alert on H.B. 1876

Action Alert: Ask your representative to support H.B. 1876

TAFP’s innovative loan repayment program designed to increase the number of primary care physicians practicing in underserved areas is stuck in the House Calendars Committee. Statewide media coverage on the program has been tremendous and has put pressure on lawmakers to schedule the bill for a hearing before the full House, but TAFP needs your help to make that happen. Contact your representative and ask him or her to sign on to House Bill 1876 as a co-sponsor. You can use AAFP’s Speak Out tool to find out who your state representative is and his or her contact information.

With the 81st Texas Legislature concluding on June 1, 2009, time is running very short. “It’s crucial that the House of Representatives’ Calendars Committee schedule a vote on House Bill 1876 as soon as possible, and for that to happen, we need our members’ help now,” said TAFP CEO Tom Banning. “Call members of the House Calendars Committee and urge them to call for a vote on House Bill 1876. Then call your representative and ask them to sign on to the bill.”

Members of the House Calendars Committee are:

• Chair Brian McCall, R-Plano, (512) 463-0594
• Vice Chair Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, (512) 463-0606
• Rep. Norma Chavez, D-El Paso, (512) 463-0622
• Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, (512) 463-0524
• Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, (512) 463-0730
• Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, (512) 463-0726
• Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, (512) 463-0610
• Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, (512) 463-0656
• Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, (512) 463-0600
• Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, (512) 463-0602
• Rep. Jim McReynolds, D-Lufkin, (512) 463-0490
• Rep. Allan Ritter, D-Nederland, (512) 463-0706
• Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, (512) 463-0478

Newspapers and television news departments across the state have picked up the story with news coverage and editorials calling for passage of H.B. 1876. The Austin American Statesman joined the cause most recently with an editorial entitled, “Pull the Plug on Health Care Holdup in Texas.”

As we reported last week, TAFP and the Texas Association of Community Health Centers put together a successful series of press events at community clinics around the state. You can watch a video compilation of the coverage the events generated at www.hb1876.tv and judge for yourself.

For information on the loan repayment program and for talking points about the state’s dire shortage of primary care physicians and how the bill can help, check out this issue brief in the Advocacy section of TAFP’s Web site.

House passes TAFP’s instant verification of benefits bill

Health plans would have to provide physicians with information about their patients’ coverage including what services are covered, deductible amounts and estimates of the patients’ out-of-pocket costs at the point of care if H.B. 1342 becomes law. The bill by Rep. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, was passed by the Texas House this week and is now on its way to the Senate.

The bill’s companion in the Senate, S.B. 863 by Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, has been referred to the Senate State Affairs Committee, and with the momentum behind the House version, prospects are good that the bill will get a committee hearing soon.

In an interview for the March 4th edition of TAFP’s video news webcast, Capitol Report, Rep. Menendez said the measure would improve the interaction between doctors and patients by removing unnecessary steps in the payment process. “You know, with the technology we have today, it’s just a matter of getting some computer systems to talk to each other,” Menendez said. “The health insurance companies have to know what their insurance provides, what their coverage provides, and I’m sure that with a simple identification number, they know what each patient’s deductible is, what their co-pays are. So if they have that information, why can’t they share that information with the doctors?”

For more information about the bill and the need for real-time eligibility and coverage verification, check out the cover story of the latest issue of TEXAS FAMILY PHYSICIAN.

Committees vote to expand access to CHIP, Medicaid

The House Committee on Human Services passed two bills this week that would reduce the number of uninsured children in Texas. H.B. 2962 by Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, would remove some administrative barriers to enrollment in CHIP and children’s Medicaid, raise the net income limit for CHIP eligibility to 300 percent of the federal poverty level and create a CHIP buy-in program for families making between 300 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

H.B. 1541 by Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, would reinstate 12-month eligibility for children covered by Medicaid, meaning families would have to reapply for the program every 12 months instead of every 6 months. It is also designed to streamline the administrative processes of several benefit programs including CHIP and Medicaid, and to increase community outreach for those programs.

Both bills have been sent to the House Calendars Committee to be scheduled for debate on the House floor.

The Senate Finance Committee passed legislation that would create a CHIP buy-in option for families earning between 200 and 300 percent of the federal poverty level. S.B. 841 by Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, is now on its way to the full Senate.

AHA asks for support of statewide smoke-free law

The American Heart Association-South Central Affiliate released an action alert asking for online petition signatures in support of the statewide smoking ban that would eliminate smoking in all workplaces and public places. The group received more than 10,000 signatures in advance of the bill’s hearing before the Senate State Affairs Committee, but the committee left House Bill 5 pending. There is still time to declare your support for this public health initiative supported by TAFP and our partners in the Public Health Coalition. Go to www.smokefreetexasnow.org to read talking points on the legislation and contact your legislators.

Thanks to the Physicians of the Day

Thank you to the physicians who volunteered as Physicians of the Day this week and last: Terrell Benold, M.D., of Austin; Rick Edwards, M.D., and Barbara Estment, M.D., of Fort Worth; Love Paul, M.D., of Austin; Art Klawitter, M.D., of Needville; John Richmond, M.D., of Dallas; David McClellan, M.D., and resident Kurt Davis, M.D., of Bryan, Ashok Kumar, M.D., of San Antonio; Fred Merian, M.D., of Wimberly; Luis Benavides, M.D., of Laredo; and Thomas Cherry, M.D., of Chandler.

Because of the rush of activity in the last month of the 81st Texas Legislative Session, TAFP may need volunteers to serve on Saturdays and Sundays in May. If you are able to serve on a weekend, please contact kmccann@tafp.org. Find more information about the Physician of the Day program on TAFP’s Web site, www.tafp.org/advocacy/physicianoftheday.