Obama to Doctors: Health Care Plan is 'Your Friend'
from The Dallas Morning News, June 16, 2009
President Barack Obama on Monday asked physicians to overcome ingrained doubts and "illegitimate concerns" about a new government health plan that would provide insurance to tens of millions of Americans who go without it. More

Obama Pushes Doctors to Accept Health Care Overhaul
from The Austin American-Statesman, June 16, 2009
Dr. Clifford Moy, an Austin psychiatrist who was in the audience as a Texas Medical Association delegate, praised Obama for saying that he needed the support of doctors. However, he echoed the comments of other medical professionals in Austin when he called the plan too vague for anyone to say how it would affect doctors, hospitals and safety-net providers in Central Texas. More

Texas Doctors Ask that Freedom for Patients, Doctors Be Part of Obama's Plan
from The Beaumont Enterprise, June 16, 2009
The Southeast Texas medical community has its eyes on Washington as the Obama administration works to craft and sell a massive health care reform package. Dr. David Teuscher, president of Beaumont Bone and Joint and former president of the Jefferson County Medical Association, was there to hear the speech. While he did not agree with every particular detail, he generally seemed encouraged by the president's message. More

Rohack to Head AMA
from The Killeen Daily Herald, June 15, 2009
Equality in health care and medical education is not a castle in the sky for Dr. J. James Rohack. Rohack, director of the Center for Healthcare Policy at Scott & White Hospital in Temple, graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1976, 10 years after then Texas Western College became the first men's basketball team to win the NCAA Division I championship with all black starters. More

Texas Town at Center of Health Care Debate
from CBS Evening News, June 15, 2009
For the South Texas border town of McAllen, it's unwanted criticism. First it came from an article in the New Yorker that highlighted the area's sky-high medical costs, and now, reports CBS News correspondent Don Teague, it's coming from President Obama who suggested McAllen's doctors are part of a national problem of physicians ordering unnecessary treatments. But doctors say McAllen faces unique healthcare challenges. More

CBS News Visits McAllen to Get Reaction to New Yorker Health Story
from The Rio Grande Guardian, June 17, 2009
A CBS News TV crew was in McAllen getting response from physicians and hospitals about the now famous New Yorker magazine article. Reporter Don Teague, who is based in Dallas, met with Dr. James R. Stewart, who practices internal medicine in McAllen and who presides over the Hidalgo-Starr Counties Medical Society, and Dr. Carlos Cardenas, one of the owners of Doctors Hospital at Renaissance. More

Malpractice Issue So Far a Non-starter on the Hill
from CQ Politics, June 15, 2009
President Obama told doctors on Monday that as part of a health care overhaul, he would like to find ways to reduce the number of medical malpractice lawsuits. But it’s not clear that his allies in Congress have any interest in addressing the issue, a flash point in past debates. An overhaul bill introduced last week by Sens. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., and Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., includes no provisions on malpractice. The issue goes unmentioned in an outline of a House bill under development by three committees. And Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., isn’t expected to address it in legislation he plans to introduce this week, according to lawmakers and aides. More

Cancer Patient Tells of Rips in Health Insurance Safety Net
from CNN Politics, June 16, 2009
Robin Beaton found out last June she had an aggressive form of breast cancer and needed surgery -- immediately. But three days before the operation, the insurance company called and told her they had red-flagged her chart and she would not be able to have her surgery. Beaton turned to Texas Rep. Joe Barton for help. Barton said his staff went to work, but the insurance company, he said, was "unyielding." More

Editorial: Texas Should Do More for Children Without Insurance
from The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 12, 2009
Can we please stop pretending that helping working parents provide health insurance for their children is a ruse for enacting an unwarranted middle-class entitlement? The arguments against increasing access to Texas' Children's Health Insurance Program have included claims that it would entice parents away from private insurance providers and get away from the mission of aiding the neediest families. More

TMA Applauds Bills Signed by Gov. Rick Perry
from The Fort Worth Business Press, June 15, 2009
Gov. Rick Perry signed Senate Bills 346 and 347 into law recently, a move applauded by the Texas Medical Association. The new Texas laws are intended to better track vaccinations throughout a person's lifetime and to exchange information with other states during disasters, such as natural disasters that may prompt people to move across state lines. More

WHO: Swine Flu Pandemic Has Begun
from The Houston Chronicle, June 11, 2009
Swine flu is now formally a pandemic, a declaration by U.N. health officials that will speed vaccine production and spur government spending to combat the first global flu epidemic in 41 years. Thursday's announcement by the World Health Organization doesn't mean the virus is any more lethal - only that its spread is considered unstoppable. More

Hard Hats for Little Heads
from Purdue University, June 11, 2009
Satterfield and Pontikes Construction co-sponsored "Hard Hats for Little Heads" this past February at Blanton Elementary (Denton County, Texas, Denton ISD). The school hosted a summer camp and activity expo. More