BY John Hawkins, CEO, THA   Good news from Washington, D.C., is always cause for celebration. Especially when it’s news that’s likely to save lives right here in Texas.   Last month, our hospitals finally realized a major legislative goal when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved Texas’ state plan amendment to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for mothers to one year. That means as of March 1, Texas mothers will have 12...

BY John Hawkins, CEO, THA   New Year’s resolutions are all about taking a step forward – improving yourself or something about the world around you, whether striving for big changes or more modest ones. Here at the Texas Hospital Association, our New Year’s resolution is an ambitious one: set the record straight and make sure the contentious year our hospitals faced in 2023 won’t be repeated.   This year is a critical one. We’re...

BY John Hawkins, President and CEO, THA   Like most people, we were hoping it was all over. But once again, we rose to make our case – and protected Texas hospitals and health care.   Months after the 88th regular session of the Texas Legislature ended – successfully for health care on many fronts, thanks to fierce THA advocacy – Gov. Greg Abbott called for the third extra session of the year. Hospitals and...

By John Hawkins, President and CEO, THA   Everyone needs and deserves medical care. Texas hospitals understand that as well as anyone. And in a state with the country’s highest uninsured rate, where charity care and indigent care are a fact of life – from the Panhandle to Port Isabel, from El Paso to Houston – our hospitals fulfill that need.   Highlighting that reality is particularly important right now. Because both nationally and in...

By John Hawkins, President and CEO, THA   With no significant federal or state offices up for grabs, most people likely don’t consider this an election year. But, it is – and for healthcare champions, there’s one issue on the ballot particularly worth your participation, which could potentially shape Texas’ healthcare landscape for a long time.   On Nov. 7, voters will decide which of 14 Texas constitutional amendments on the ballot will become law....

BY John Hawkins, President and CEO, THA   COVID-19 is back. And while it may not become a public health emergency this time – knock on wood – its resurgence serves as a timely note of caution.   At this writing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had reported hospitalizations nationwide were up nearly 19% in the most recent week. CDC also reported recently that COVID-19 emergency room visits for adolescents had nearly...

BY John Hawkins, President and CEO, THA   For some time, rural hospitals – the facilities in our state facing the greatest threat to their existence – have needed help. This year, in several key ways, the Texas Legislature provided a helping hand. But there remains work to do.   Ensuring continued access to care in rural communities – from payment programs to the successful implementation of the new federal Rural Emergency Hospital designation –...

By John Hawkins, President and CEO, THA   The old saying about “strength in numbers” applies to hospitals as well as it applies anywhere. And anytime it’s applicable, you can usually say the opposite is true as well.   For years, hospitals here in Texas have been experiencing the opposite: We’ve been hurting as our personnel numbers have waned. But now – after a legislative session in which the Texas Hospital Association stressed workforce again...

BY John Hawkins, President and CEO, THA   Defense wins championships, the age-old expression goes in sports. Politics is sport in and of itself, and THA had to play some serious defense during the just-concluded session of the Texas Legislature.   The “championship” we won – if you want to call it that – was vital and hard-earned: a crisis was averted. Many hospitals and clinics that would’ve faced a new threat of hardship, reduced...

BY John Hawkins, President, THA   If there’s one theme you’ve seen me come back to in this column in the past year or so, it’s this one: Hospitals need help. Up in Washington, D.C., congressional lawmakers have a golden opportunity in front of them to give our safety-net hospitals – and the vulnerable patients they serve – a major helping hand by avoiding payment cuts that would total billions.   Two members of the...