Revised
TEXAS MEDICAL ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF DELEGATES
Resolution 403 (A-07)
Subject: Incentive to Rural Access with Rural Positive Enhancement
Introduced by: Angelina County Medical Society
Referred to: Reference Committee on Socioeconomics
Whereas, It is significantly more difficult to recruit physicians to rural areas; and
Whereas, The rural population is growing rapidly; and
Whereas, The rural physician population is not growing as rapidly; and
Whereas, The rural population in Texas is disproportionately undersupplied with physicians; and
Whereas, This area has been chronically denied adequate reimbursement by Medicare for over 40 years due to gerrymandering; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Texas Medical Association seek to have practitioners in the areas presently designated as Locality 99 for patients and Locality 8 for surgery facilities reimbursed at a rate 20 percent over the average reimbursement for Texas; the program to run for 20 years with the onset of an influx of retiring baby boomers to rural areas.
Relevant TMA Policy
240.014 Geographic Practice Cost Indices . The Texas Medical Association supports efforts to repair methodological flaws in the current calculation of the work and practice expense GPCIs that may be understating the costs to rural physicians. TMA advocates for: (1) eliminating geographic adjustment of the work component of Medicare payment, while retaining and improving the adjustments for practice expense and malpractice, or, at a minimum, revise the calculation of the physician work GPCI to use salary data only for professionals holding advanced degrees, including physicians; (2) recalculating the practice expense GPCIs to make proper allowance for physician's employment of administrative and managerial staff; (3) reevaluating existing databases to find or develop a nationwide measure of commercial office rents for use in calculating practice expense GPCIs; and (4) finding or developing an index that will accurately measure the existing variations in costs of medical supplies (BOT Rep. 39-I-98).
240.016 Medicare Reimbursement Rates : The Texas Medical Association will work to reform the Medicare payment system to provide adequate and equitable funding to all physicians providing services to patients who are Medicare beneficiaries (Substitute Res. 401-A-03).
TMA House of Delegates: TexMed 2007
Last Updated On
July 07, 2010
Originally Published On
March 23, 2010