BY John Hawkins, President/CEO, Texas Hospital Association   With no shortage of polarizing issues circulating in Texas right now, one thing is clear no matter your politics: Mental health is top of mind. The stress of an ongoing pandemic layered with racial tensions, school shootings, divisive abortion laws, and a turbulent economy have pushed behavioral health front and center.   It’s an unfortunate circumstance, and it’s clear that almost everyone is hurting in some way....

BY John Hawkins, President/CEO, Texas Hospital Association The passage of time takes the sting out of painful memories. It’s a coping mechanism that allows us to move on from trauma and move forward with hope. As the pandemic moves toward second-page news, it’s hard to recall the early days of intense uncertainty, rapid-fire disease spread, school closures, mixed mask messages, travel bans, hand sanitizer rationing, and an abundance of panic as the country embarked on...

By John Hawkins, President/CEO, Texas Hospital Association   When the COVID-19 pandemic first took hold of the nation, legislation quickly passed that has allowed most Medicaid enrollees to maintain coverage during the ongoing public health emergency. The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act granted states an increase in federal Medicaid dollars as long as they paused disenrolling anyone from their Medicaid programs starting in March 2020. With the boost in Medicaid dollars Texas received, the...

BY John Hawkins, President/CEO, Texas Hospital Association Health care workers have dealt with endless challenges in recent years, especially after two years of COVID-19 patient care and the resulting burnout and fatigue. As hospitals and health systems face severe staffing shortages, the burden on those workers remaining grows more profound. Amid the mounting pressure and strain, health care workers must contend with, one concern is entirely preventable and must be addressed in a comprehensive and...

By John Hawkins, President/CEO, Texas Hospital Association   Hospitals around the state are breathing a collective sigh of relief following the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ approval of three directed payment programs in late March. These vital DPPs raise reimbursement rates closer to the cost of providing care to Medicaid enrollees and amount to $5.3 billion a year in payment enhancements to Texas providers. But for nearly seven months, the programs were left pending...

By John Hawkins, President/CEO, Texas Hospital Association Hospitals have grappled with health care workforce shortages long before the pandemic, but two years of providing COVID-19 care have strained provider resources and staff like never before. Health care workers serving on the frontlines of one COVID-19 variant surge after the next are profoundly burned out and exiting hospital employment in record numbers. Some are leaving the field altogether, while others are trading full-time work for more...

By John Hawkins, President/CEO, Texas Hospital Association While much of our attention lately has been focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and related challenges, another crisis has been quietly brewing with the potential to drastically impede health care delivery across Texas. Since last fall, supplement payment programs that raise hospitals’ Medicaid reimbursements closer to the actual cost of care either expired or are still awaiting federal approval. Months have now passed without Medicaid providers receiving these...

By John Hawkins, President/CEO, Texas Hospital Association Hope was on the horizon as we inched closer to the end of 2021. Powerful tools like vaccines, masks, boosters, and testing capabilities were ubiquitous, and the general public was deeply educated about how to protect themselves. A new year brought hope for a new health care environment that perhaps would largely leave COVID-19 in the rearview mirror. But, as the holidays unfolded, so did another serious wave...

Following a nationwide search, the Texas Hospital Association has selected longtime advocacy veteran John Hawkins to lead the organization, replacing Ted Shaw who retires at the end of the year. On Jan. 1, Hawkins will become the association’s president and chief executive officer. THA is the largest voice for Texas hospitals, representing more than 600 members – from sprawling hospital systems to small, rural facilities, both private and public – from all corners of the...

By Ted Shaw, President/CEO, Texas Hospital Association Health care providers are in the best seat ever to encourage their patients to sign up now for health care coverage through the federal marketplace at HealthCare.Gov. Open enrollment began Nov. 1 for health plans for next year. With more options, new savings, and more time to get enrolled, the outlook has never been better to add Texans to the coverage rolls. Those who already have insurance through...