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TMB Adopts Rules for Two New Physician License Categories Amid Visa Impediments for IMGs - 02/02/2026

International medical graduates (IMGs) and unmatched physician graduates now have rules on how to apply for new license classes created via 2025 legislation aimed at expanding the state’s physician workforce. However, a state halt on certain work visas could also impede the law’s progress.

Federal, State Impediments to H-1B Visas Threaten Texas Physician Workforce - 02/02/2026

A 2025 presidential order requiring a new $100,000 fee for H-1B work visa applicants, followed by a Jan. 27 freeze on new petitions by Gov. Greg Abbott, could squeeze the pipeline of international medical graduates helping to meet the state's health care needs.

Behavioral Health Infrastructure Gets Legislative Focus with TMA-Supported Bills - 12/02/2025

In addition to addressing youth social media use, the legislature also set out to create a pipeline for aspiring mental health professionals. Plus, TMA will help study how to balance psychiatric care burdens.

Pivoting Toward the Future: Progress in the Physician Workforce Grows Apace With the State’s Population - 11/07/2025

TMA’s physician workforce keeps apace the Texas population growth, and progress is happening to build the workforce through licensure, new state programs, and other initiatives.

Covering Distances: Physicians, Lawmakers, Med Schools Look to Improve Rural Patient Access to Care - 11/07/2025

Texas legislators are taking notice of the dearth of physician care in rural counties with solutions, medical schools are gaining ground with successful rural-specific training tracks, with TMA all the while pushing for further steps to assuage rural health care shortages in Texas.

Enjoying Employment: Texas Physicians Trend Away from Independent Practice - 10/14/2025

As the share of Texas physicians trend away from independent practice, TMA members spell out the benefits of employment.

Workforce Expansion, Tech Could Help Border Health Care - 09/19/2025

As new solutions to persistent border issues surface, collaboration is vital among physicians, health authorities, and local leaders. TMA’s annual Border Health Conference explored those new pathways.

2025 Legislative Wrap-Up: Texas Physician Workforce Gets Budget Boost - 09/02/2025

Proven avenues to expand Texas’ physician workforce – via funding secured for undergraduate and graduate medical education (GME), loan repayment, and rural training programs, as well as supporting TMB’s efforts to process licenses for physicians moving to Texas from other

New Law Allows Physicians to Help Patients Receive Their Medical News – Good or Bad - 08/19/2025

A new law effective Sept. 1 will protect Texas patients from the confusion of receiving difficult-to-decipher health information in their inbox with no explanation, thanks to the efforts of Texas physicians.

Pinch Points: Health Care Isn’t Immune to a Tight Labor Market - 08/18/2025

Health care isn’t immune to a tight labor market, but employee retention efforts can help.

National Suicide Hotline Changes to Simpler “988” Format - 08/08/2025

People coping with suicidal thoughts can now call 988, the new three-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Lege Poised to Boost GME Funding; TMA Urges Rural Workforce Investment - 08/05/2025

With a record-high budget at its disposal, the Texas Legislature seems poised to increase funding for graduate medical education in the 2024-25 biennium, fulfilling one of the Texas Medical Association’s legislative priorities. But physicians say more must be done to address the state’s physician workforce shortage, especially in primary care and in rural and underserved areas.

New TMA Policies Strive to Bolster Physician Workforce - 05/21/2025

Attempting to fix Texas’ maternal care deserts and other physician workforce deficits, the House of Delegates voted in support of expanded physician training opportunities and statewide initiatives, particularly focused on rural areas.

Record Licensure Numbers Show Steady Workforce Progress - 04/23/2025

Texas continues to expand the physician workforce at a faster rate than the state’s population, continuing a 15-year streak, but gaps remain. To drive in-state growth, TMA continues to advocate for bolstering the state’s residency and fellowship programs.

Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) - 04/09/2025

The impact of adverse childhood events (ACEs) can be lasting and costly on patient health and medical outcomes. In the United States, more than 20% of adults report experiencing three ACEs during their youth, potentially increasing the risk of negative, chronic health consequences and challenges such as alcoholism, depression, unemployment, heart disease and substance abuse, among many others.

Confidential Physician Counseling Now Free Thanks to TMAIT - 03/10/2025

Anticipate Joy provides a deep well of support for physicians and their families for free, courtesy of a grant from TMA Insurance Trust (TMAIT). TMA encourages members to avail themselves of the counseling services, which ensure privacy and impose no limit on individual sessions with therapists.

Border Health Conference Highlights Need for Funding, Residency Programs - 10/17/2024

Physicians, lawmakers, city leaders, and others came together at the Texas Medical Association’s Border Health Conference in Laredo to find solutions to the most pressing issues affecting physicians and patients on the Texas-Mexico border.

Suicide Risk in Kids With Adverse Childhood Experiences Exacerbated by Pandemic - 09/13/2024

Suicide and suicidal thoughts among high school students who have accumulated adverse childhood experiences became a concern among health care professionals before 2020. But the “social and educational disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated concerns about adolescents’ mental health and suicidal behavior,” according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

‘TMA Health Beat’ Explores Aging Patient Population’s Unique Needs - 08/21/2024

Texas expects to see a nearly threefold increase in people aged 65 and older by 2050, according to the Texas Demographic Center, making it crucial for physicians to learn the unique care needs of this population.

Texas Making Strides to Support 988 Suicide Hotline - 08/20/2024

Texas’ performance with the nation’s 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – launched by a 2022 federal law – is seeking to catch up to other states in important areas, according to a new study, as the resource remains underused in part because many physicians and patients are not aware of it.  

State Plan Tackles Mental Health Coverage - 08/09/2024

Four years after the Texas Legislature passed legislation aimed to improve health plan coverage of mental health conditions and substance use disorders, a state workgroup has released a strategic plan to improve compliance with the law’s protections to put coverage of those treatments on par with other types of health care.

New TMA Policy Guides Physicians on Mental Health Problems Tied to Social Media Use - 06/26/2024

Pediatricians and family physicians have a rich body of evidence testifying to the influence that smartphones and social media can have on children’s health, says Pasadena pediatrician Lindy McGee, MD, chair of the Texas Medical Association’s Committee on Child and Adolescent Health.

The Waco Way: How This Addiction Medicine Specialist Targets Primary Care Challenges - 05/29/2024

How one addiction medicine specialist turned passion into practicality to target behavioral health challenges in primary care.

New TMA Policies Aim to Strengthen Physician Workforce Pipeline - 05/14/2024

Among others, top new policies direct TMA to study ways to assist unmatched medical graduates and to advocate for increased per-resident funding to offset medical schools’ teaching costs – a rate that has not budged since 2008. Read more.

Mental Health Care to Expand With State Hospital Renovations Under Way - 05/09/2024

Renovations to Texas state mental health hospitals are under way across the state with the help of investments from state legislators and support from the Texas Medical Association to expand access to behavioral health care.