When Texas physicians joined their colleagues from around the country in Honolulu for the Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association House of Delegates, it wasn’t all sunshine, golf courses, and sandy beaches.
“It’s a lot of work and a lot of meaningful work,” said David Henkes, MD, chair of the Texas Delegation to the AMA.
The Texas contingency joined more than 700 physicians, residents, and medical students at the conference Nov. 12-15 to vet and debate health care policy to protect the practice of medicine.
Among the top issues debated this year: resolving the broken Medicare system used to pay physicians, stopping scope creep, and protecting physician autonomy. Other topics discussed: eliminating daylight savings time, better leave policies for medical students and physicians, and closing insurance gaps for preventive health.
“Often my colleagues ask me why I participate in these [AMA] meetings,” said Gary Floyd, MD, TMA president. “After watching my [Texas Delegation] colleagues block, tackle, and reshape many of these policies, I can now say without hesitation: We need to be there. Our presence is critical.”
That proved true in the Texas Delegation’s contributions to AMA policy developments on opioids, price transparency, women’s health, and one of medicine’s most pressing priorities: Medicare physician payment reform.
“This includes stopping up to 8.5% cuts scheduled to occur Jan. 1, 2023, and reforming the Medicare physician payment system to include annual updates for inflation and cost of living expenses,” Dr. Floyd said.
The Texas Delegation and TMA leadership also met with their counterparts from California, Florida, and New York on the urgent topic. The group – known as the Big 4 – unanimously agreed fixing Medicare physician payment was paramount and shared those views with AMA Senior Vice President of Advocacy Todd Askew and AMA Board of Trustees officers to improve coordination and communication in order to achieve results.
In addition, the Texas Delegation worked on the following policies, which AMA delegates adopted:
- Drug shortages: AMA delegates expressed concern over the failure of the market to make generic drugs available to patients. Texas supported a resolution to study and solve this problem that includes the formation of a nonprofit government manufacturer of pharmaceuticals to produce small-market generic drugs.
- Opioid epidemic: The U.S. drug-overdose epidemic continues to grow despite a 40% reduction in physicians’ prescriptions for opioids over the past 10 years. Deaths due to illicit fentanyl have increased by more than 80%. Texas joined AMA delegates in their support for harm-reduction efforts to curb the overdose epidemic. Those efforts include increasing access to fentanyl test strips and naloxone, syringe services programs, and pilot tests for overdose prevention sites.
- Price transparency: Texas supported and crafted final language on a resolution calling on AMA to advocate for independent, nonconflicted databases of allowed amounts and charges, and for transparency as to the source and validation of data from payers.
- Firearm-related injuries: Texas supported delegates’ call for research to examine the major sources of illegal firearms and methods to decrease the proliferation of these firearms in the U.S.
- Vaccines: Texas backed multiple resolutions supporting the availability of vaccines, including those for human papillomavirus (HPV) and COVID-19. In addition, the Texas Delegation supported measures to increase screening for HPV-related cancers.
- Women’s health: Texas backed resolutions favoring the decriminalization of physicians who provide medically necessary care for their pregnant patients.
- Public option: AMA has strong policies and guidelines in place if and when a public option is discussed nationally. However, several groups at the interim conference – including the American College of Physicians; delegations from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; and the medical student and resident sections – advanced a resolution stating AMA “may” advocate for a public option. Texas did not support the move and successfully fought to have it amended to include "a pluralistic health care system.” The final resolution, which ultimately incorporated language on both, passed by a narrow margin. It calls on AMA to “advocate for a pluralistic health care system, which may include a public option.”
Read more highlights from the Interim Meeting in this AMA article.