Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Congress and the Obama administration must find a way to reduce the law's overbearing bureaucracy, said Texas Medical Association President Michael E. Speer, MD.
But, he added, "One thing today's ruling has not, and cannot, change is Texas physicians' deep commitment to care for our patients. The well-being of our patients comes first."
Dr. Speer said the court "gave the states flexibility on Medicaid expansion. We desperately need a better system of caring for Texas' large uninsured population. We need a local/state/federal partnership to design a fair and sustainable system. Top-down mandates are not the answer."
He said TMA "has said since day one that we need to find what's missing, keep what works, and fix what's broken in the new law. We absolutely must reduce the law's red tape and bureaucracy that interfere with patient care. Today's health care system is riddled with hundreds of regulations imposed by federal health law that do little to improve patient care, but instead divert our time and energy away from our patients."
The Houston neonatologist said TMA and its member physicians recommend that Congress and the Texas Legislature:
- Protect important consumer insurance protections, such as insurance product labeling and protections for patients with preexisting conditions;
- Immediately fix the broken Medicare physician payment formula;
- Enact Texas-style liability reforms for the rest of the nation;
- Allow Medicare patients to contract directly with their physicians for any covered service;
- Scrap the Independent Payment Advisory Board;
- Lift restrictions on physician hospital ownership;
- Help fund the huge need for more physicians to care for America's growing elderly population; and
- Rebuild the Medicaid physician network by enacting competitive Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) physician payments.
For your convenience, TMA is compiling and curating news coverage and analysis of the court's ruling and its impact.
Last Updated On
July 03, 2012
Originally Published On
June 28, 2012