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TOA
President's
Update
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By John T. Gill, MD
President, Texas Orthopaedic Association
In Texas and around the country, many
health care issues important to orthopaedics are either new on the
scene or seem to be ongoing problems. To help us better measure the
temperature of the Texas orthopaedic community, please answer
these questions by opening, printing and faxing this
form to us so we may know
your concerns. |
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Or you
may simply fill it out online by
clicking
here - the password is: toa-03-25-08-is
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(TDI-DWC) Will Present Two
Educational Sessions On March 27, 2008
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The Texas Department of Insurance,
Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) will present two
educational sessions, Newly Revised 2008 Hospital Fee Guidelines and
Newly Revised 2008 Medical Fee Guidelines, sponsored by the Kilgore
Junior College Small Business Development Center (SBDC) on Thursday,
March 27, 2008. The Newly Revised 2008 Hospital Fee Guidelines
educational session will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The Newly
Revised 2008 Medical Fee Guideline educational
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session will be held from 1 p.m. to
4:30 p.m. The sessions will take place at the Ramada Hotel – Longview,
Conference Room, 419 Spur 63, Longview, Texas. The cost is $79 per
person for each session.
The complete news release concerning
the educational sessions on workers’ compensation medical and hospital
fee guidelines offered in Longview on March 27, is located by clicking
on this
link.
For more information on additional
educational sessions on workers’ compensation medical and hospital fee
guidelines in additional locations, please visit the TDI website by
clicking on this
link.
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This Week In Texas: Mignon
McGarry Memos
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By Mignon McGarry
TOA Legislative Advocate
TOA Online Version: All Memos
March 5, Wednesday
The results are in! Here are
the “down and dirty” results of races of interest in the Texas
Legislature. For more detailed information, go to
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the Secretary of State’s website by
clicking
here.
A future memo will provide more detailed analysis of the Texas
primary results and the implications for the upcoming general
election in November.
In
the Texas Senate, two incumbents faced primary opponents.
Sen. Tommy Williams (R-The
Woodlands) defeated former Senator Michael Galloway in the Republican
primary for Senate District 4.
Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) defeated Denton
developer Charles Stafford in the Republican primary for Senate
District 30.
In
the Texas House, all 150 seats are up for reelection. The House
currently has 79 Republicans and 71 Democrats. 29 incumbent members
of the House had primary opponents. Incumbents surviving primary
challengers were Rep. Kino Flores
(D-Mission), Rep. Aaron
Pena (D-Edinburg), Rep.
Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin),
Rep. Jerry Madden
(R-Plano), Rep. Bill Zedler
(R-Arlington), Rep. Charlie
Geren (R-Ft. Worth),
Rep. Betty Brown (R-Athens),
Rep. Joe Crabb
(R-Kingwood), Rep. John Davis
(R-Houston), Rep. Phil
King (R-Weatherford),
Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana),
Rep. Charlie Howard
(R-Sugar Land), Rep. Rene Oliveira
(D-Brownsville), Rep.
Charles “Doc” Anderson (R-Waco),
Rep. Delwin Jones
(R-Lubbock), Rep. Roberto Alonzo
(D-Dallas), Rep. Garnet
Coleman (D-Houston),
Rep. Frank Corte (R-San Antonio), and
Rep.
Jessica Farrar (D-Houston).
Rep. Dora Olivo
(D-Missouri City) won her race by 186 votes so a recount is possible
in that race.
Rep. Buddy West
(R-Odessa) faces a run-off on April 8th
with Tryon Lewis, former
district judge and former Ector County Republican Party Chair.
Incumbents Rep. Pat Haggerty
(R-El Paso), Rep. Corbin Van
Arsdale (R-Houston),
Rep. Kevin Bailey (D-Houston),
Rep. Thomas Latham
(R-Sunnyvale), Rep. Juan Escobar
(D-Kingsville), Rep.
Boris Miles (D-Houston), and
Rep. Paul Moreno (D-El
Paso) were defeated. Rep. Nathan
Macias (R-Bulverde) lost to challenger Doug Miller by a
mere 38 votes so a recount is likely in that race.
There are 8 “open” House races for seats held by members who are not
seeking re-election. The results are listed below with the current
member in parentheses.
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District 17: |
(Rep.
Robby Cook D-Eagle Lake)
Tim Kleinschmidt (R) v. Donnie Dippel (D) |
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District 29: |
(Rep.
Mike O’Day R-Pearland)
Randy Weber (R) v. Kevin Murphy (D) |
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District 52: |
(Rep.
Mike Krusee R-Taylor)
There will be a run-off between Bryan Daniel and Dee Hobbs for
the Republican nomination to face Diane Maldonado (D) in the
general election. |
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District 55: |
(Rep.
Dianne White Delisi R-Temple)
There will be a run-off between Martha Tyroch and Ralph
Sheffield for the Republican nomination to face Sam Murphey (D)
in the general election. |
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District 112: |
(Rep.
Fred Hill R-Richardson)
There will be a run-off between Angie Chen Button and Randall
Dunning for the Republican nomination to face Sandra VuLe (D) in
the general election. |
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District 144: |
(Rep.
Robert Talton R-Pasadena)
There will be a run-off between Ken Legler and Fred Roberts for
the Republican nomination to face Joel Redmond (D) in the
general election. |
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District 145: |
(Rep.
Rick Noriega D-Houston)
Patricia Rodriguez (R) v. Carol Alvarado (D) |
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District 119: |
Roland Gutierrez (D) (Rep.
Robert Puente D-San Antonio)
* Special election to be called by Governor since
Rep. Robert Puente
(D-San Antonio) retired January 31st. |
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Division Developing Closed
Formulary for Prescription Medications
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AUSTIN, TX –
Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Albert Betts is required to
adopt a closed formulary for prescription medications in the workers’
compensation system in accordance with Texas Labor Code §408.028(b).
The closed formulary, which will apply to network and non-network
claims, will provide reimbursement rates that are fair and reasonable,
assure adequate access to medications and services for injured
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To provide input for rulemaking
development of a closed formulary, the Texas Department of Insurance,
Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) has formed a pharmacy
formulary work group to study existing closed formularies and their
associated rules of other state and federal agencies, including Texas
Medicaid and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The TDI-DWC
Medical Advisor is chairing the work group, which is comprised of
health care and pharmacy professionals.
The group will provide a report on recommendations for a closed
pharmacy formulary to Commissioner Betts in early April 2008.
Additionally, the formulary work group will review data on
pharmaceutical usage in Texas collected and published in a
Pharmaceutical Descriptive Analysis by the Texas Department of
Insurance’s Workers’ Compensation Research and Evaluation Group.
The following are tentative rule development timelines, which are also
available on the TDI-DWC rules timeline posted on the agency website
at this
link.
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The Benefits Of Being A Member Of
Texas Orthopaedic Association
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How many of you pay
for CME at national and regional meetings? Did you know that your TOA
membership entitles you to at least 25 CME Category 1 hours free of
charge each year? At $475, that is $19 per CME hour. Compare the “bang
for the buck” you receive from other organizations you belong to.
Those of you who have attended TOA meetings know that the
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gatherings offer not only free CME,
but excellent food and libations at no cost to members, as well as,
hotel rates negotiated for you so you can economically stay at the
finest resorts in Texas. Just consider the cost of an evening of dinner
with wine for you and your spouse, then throw in two lunches and a
couple of continental breakfasts. For these deals, you can’t beat TOA’s
annual dues of only $475.
You simply can’t get a better value when you consider the political
information and influence that our staff and volunteer members in Austin
deliver to you. Add in our member services/discounts, communication
vehicles and innovative programs all working for you, now that's a deal!
Finally, consider the value of the camaraderie of your Texas orthopaedic
colleagues and the pride in belonging to the elite state Orthopaedic
society in America…..Priceless! All this and you can pay your dues
online with no muss, no fuss - so log on today and select "My Account"
from the menu and then "Pay Dues" or simply click
here!
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