TexMed
The TMA House of Delegates met during TexMed 2023 in Fort Worth on Fri-Sat, May 19-20, 2023.
TMA has planned the next TMA House sessions to be held during TexMed 2024 in Dallas on May 2-4, 2024. More details to come in the future.
TMA House of Delegates Makes Policy
The Texas Medical Association (TMA) House of Delegates is the legislative and policy making body for the association. It is made up of over 400 elected members who serve as delegates, alternate delegates or ex officio members.
The TMA House is also responsible for electing the President-elect, members of the Board of Trustees, Speaker and Vice Speaker of the House, members of the Texas Delegation to the American Medical Association, and others.
The House meets annually on Friday and Saturday mornings during TexMed, TMA’s educational showcase and expo, which is usually held in April or May and rotates among the large cities around the state.
Several weeks prior to the House annual sessions, TMA posts on the House of Delegates page the action reports and resolutions that will be considered during TexMed, as well as informational reports and the list of candidates running for TMA office.
For more information, please see below. Also refer to How the House of Delegates Functions and the House of Delegates Guide.
HCMS Delegation Information
Serving on the Harris (HCMS) Delegation to the TMA House of Delegates carries with it the responsibility of representing the physicians of Harris County and provides an opportunity to influence the policies of organized medicine.
Each year, our delegation holds two or three local evening Business meetings prior to the TMA House annual sessions. All delegation members are expected to attend these meetings and encouraged to participate in the discussions.
We also hold a brief Orientation meeting just before our first Business meeting, so our newer delegation members can learn more about their role and the workings of the delegation and House of Delegates.
2023 Local Meetings - Resolutions, Review Teams, Action Items
Orientation and First Business meeting
On Wednesday evening, February 15, 2023, we held a brief virtual orientation meeting so our new delegation members could become more familiar with the processes.
That same evening, our entire delegation met virtually to discuss the resolutions submitted by our local members.
The resolutions that were accepted by our delegation were submitted by staff to TMA, to be included in the TMA Handbook for Delegation Members. They were then considered by the TMA House of Delegates along with the action reports and the resolutions from other counties, individuals and sections during the TMA House sessions on May19-20, 2023.
Review Teams and Business meetings
On Monday evening, April 10, our four local Review Teams met virtually (via breakout rooms) to consider the items in their sections of the TMA Handbook. These items are the action reports (submitted by TMA boards, councils, committees) and the resolutions (submitted by other counties, individuals, TMA sections). Each of our Review Teams made a recommendation regarding each item from the team's assigned section whether our delegation should support, oppose, or recommend amendment or referral.
All of our delegation members were encouraged to participate on one of the teams. (See info below regarding the types of issues each team considered.)
On Wednesday evening, April 19, the chairs of our four Review Teams presented to our entire delegation their teams' recommendations. Our delegation considered our Review Teams' recommendations and decided how, as a delegation, it wished to respond to each item presented. Our delegation also briefly reviewed the candidates running for TMA elected offices.
During TexMed, our delegation's responses to the items were presented at the in-person TMA Reference Committee hearings and TMA House sessions held on May 19-20, 2023, in Fort Worth.
Our Review Teams correspond to TMA's four Reference Committees and the four "action" sections of the TMA Handbook. They are:
- Financial and Organizational Affairs (FOA) - considers TMA association finances; membership; representation; federation membership; licensure and legal issues.
- Medical Education and Health Care Quality (MEHCQ) - considers undergraduate, graduate and continuing education; physician workforce.
- Science and Public Health (SPH) - considers core public health functions; environmental health; child and adolescent health; EMS and trauma; addictive and infectious diseases; scientific and clinical aspects of medicine; biomedical research; medicine and technology.
- Socioeconomics (SOCIO) - considers health care payment plans; Medicare and Medicaid; reimbursement; workers' compensation; legislative, regulatory, and legal issues.
Impact of HCMS Delegation
Resolutions put forward by the HCMS delegation can change or update TMA policy, but they also can have an even wider impact. Some HCMS resolutions have led to changes in state or federal law. For example, the "gold carding" prior authorization bill passed by the 2021 Texas Legislature was as a result of an earlier HCMS resolution adopted by the TMA House and continuous efforts by HCMS and TMA. See some more examples of HCMS delegation resolutions that resulted in state or federal action.
TMA House of Delegates Sessions
2023 - TMA will post the summary of actions shortly for the House sessions held during TexMed 2023 in Fort Worth on May 19-20, 2023.
2022 - The 2022 Summary of Actions provides information on the TMA elections and policy actions taken during that session. The 2022 Audit Trail allows members to follow the 2022 House items referred for study or action.
2021 - To review what happened during the 2021 House sessions, refer to the 2021 Summary of Actions. The 2021 Audit Trail provides an update on those items the House voted to refer for study or action.
Current TMA and AMA Policy
Staff
If you have questions or an interest in the Delegation, contact HCMS at 713-524-4267, Alison Rutland, ext. 219, alison_rutland@hcms.org; or Doug Abel, ext. 328, doug_abel@hcms.org.