TMA Physicians Applaud Landmark Medicaid Settlement Ruling, USA

August 1, 2007 – 10:06 pm | posted in Medicare

Physicians of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) enthusiastically applaud U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice’s ruling in the federal class-action lawsuit Frew vs. Hawkins.

Judge Justice approved the recent settlement in the 14-year-old case. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit assert that Texas is not meeting its obligation to provide adequate access to care for children in the Texas Medicaid program.

The judge accepted the terms of the settlement, which will allocate more than $1.8 billion in additional state and federal funds going into the Medicaid program. TMA has been a strong proponent and advocate for improved health insurance coverage for Texas’ children. TMA was not a party to the case.

“This settlement and legislative support greatly strengthen physicians’ ability to preserve patient care and improve the health of Texans, especially those who need it most, our children,” said William W. Hinchey, MD, TMA’s president. “TMA physicians are eager to work with the state to implement the provisions of the settlement to ensure children receive the care they deserve.”

TMA physicians urged Texas lawmakers to appropriate needed funds to cover the settlement as part of the 2008-09 state budget bill approved this spring during the legislative session.

Under the Frew vs. Hawkins settlement, the increased funding will improve outreach and education to Medicaid-eligible families and increase patient access to medical and dental services in rural and border regions. Payments also will increase to physicians and dentists who care for children covered by Medicaid. On average, physicians will receive a 25-percent increase, while dentists’ reimbursement will increase by an average of 50 percent. Payments to physicians who treat Medicaid-covered children have remained the same - below the cost of providing the care - since 1993, while the cost of running a medical practice has grown more than 25 percent and overall inflation has grown more than 30 percent. As a result, a 2006 physician survey revealed that only 38 percent of Texas physicians were accepting all new Medicaid patients, a drop from 67 percent in 2000.

TMA’s push to insure more people via Medicaid reforms was a part of its overall prescription for improving Texans’ health during the recent Texas legislative session. As Texas ranked worst nationally in the number of uninsured children, TMA physicians urged lawmakers to address the issue, and legislators passed every item on TMA’s legislative platform for reducing the number of uninsured Texans. In addition to these reforms, Texas physicians helped the legislature reform the health insurance industry, enhance patient access to care, and improve Texas’ public health infrastructure.

TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing nearly 42,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 120 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.

http://www.texmed.org

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