TMA Legislative
News Hotline
Wednesday,
Jan. 28, 2009
Attorney General Abbott Halts Memorial Hermann Healthcare System
From Shutting Out Physician-Owned Competitor
On Monday, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed an agreed injunction
with the Harris County District Court that resolves the state's antitrust
investigation into Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. The investigation
stemmed from allegations that Memorial Hermann unlawfully attempted to
prevent other hospitals from successfully opening competitive health care
institutions in the Houston area.
According to a release from the attorney general's office, in late 2005,
Houston Town and Country Hospital and other physician-owned hospitals
attempted to enter the market. According to antitrust complaints filed with
the attorney general, Memorial Hermann systematically discouraged health
insurers from adding Town and Country to their insurance coverage networks.
At the same time, Memorial Hermann used its leverage to punish health
insurers that established contracts with Town and Country.
"Free and fair competition is the cornerstone of our free market
system," General Abbott said. "Today's injunction will preserve
healthy competition and will help ensure that Houston-area patients have
more hospital choices. Open competition on the free market amongst providers
will help improve care, lower prices, and foster greater choices for
patients."
This case is important in medicine's fight to preserve physicians' rights
to invest in hospitals and medical equipment. As demonstrated by this case,
often the true motive of too many dominant hospitals in a marketplace is to
prevent or eliminate competition, and maintain a monopoly on the services
they provide.
Governor Perry Outlines Legislative Agenda
Yesterday, Gov. Rick Perry gave his State of the State address to a
joint session of the state House and Senate. Governor Perry took some
forceful stands on issues critical to the long-term health of Texas and
Texans. These included protecting Texas' landmark medical liability reforms;
supporting adult stem cell research; funding for cancer prevention,
detection, and screening in Texas; and incentives to improve the physical
fitness of Texans.
TMA issued a statement supporting these health
care positions immediately following the governor's address.
Governor Perry also recommended that businesses with less than $1 million
in taxable revenue should not pay the tax. The threshold now for a total
exemption is $300,000, while those with revenues of less than $900,000 pay
less than the 1 percent paid by other businesses subject to the tax.
TMA Legislative Priority: Fund Graduate Medical Education (GME)
Texas needs more GME slots to train the number of physicians required to
care for our rapidly growing population and reverse our overdependence on
other states and countries. It is not good fiscal policy for the state to
invest $200,000 in each Texas medical student over four years, and then
force graduates to leave the state for residency training. Those new
physicians very likely will never return to Texas. TMA calls on legislators
to fund medical school expansions and GME slots. We also must restore state
appropriations for Medicaid GME, which also will allow Texas to obtain
additional federal matching dollars.
See all of TMA's legislative issue briefs in
the Governmental Affairs section of the TMA Web site.
TMA Members Headed to Austin
Be sure to sign up for First Tuesdays at the Capitol on
Feb. 3. Don't miss the chance to meet with lawmakers and their staff and
present medicine's case in person. Hundreds of physicians in the galleries
and hearing rooms have a powerful impact on the Texas Legislature. Plus,
organized medicine has a packed legislative agenda, which lawmakers need to
fully understand. Sign up today.
Learn more about TMA's priority issues for
the 81st Texas Legislature.
Physician of the Day
The physician of the day at the capitol is Ron Mansolo, MD, of Leander. Dr.
Mansolo graduated from The University of Texas Health Science Center at
Houston in 1995. He is a member of TMA and Williamson County Medical
Society.
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