DCMS and TMA.
Years ago, I recall reading an article that
asked the question, “Was Jesus a Republican
or a Democrat?” While an interesting
question to ponder, please substitute the
word “Doctor” for “Jesus,” and modify the
tense, and the question becomes “Should a
Doctor be a Republican or a Democrat?”
This question is not easy when you give
this some thought, because there are some
issues that clearly lean Democrat, while
other issues lean Republican. Let me give a
couple of examples. Expansion of Medicaid
seems to lean more Democrat, yet currently
a bipartisan group called Texas 2036 that is
promoting Medicaid expansion has leadership
that has traditionally been conservative.
On the other hand, tort reform is an
issue that solidly leans more Republican. I
would submit to you that no single political
party assimilates all the positions that
the House of Medicine supports, hence we
should all join the DCMS and the TMA.
If you are an individual who supports
issues supported by the Democratic Party,
and you vote your conscience that way,
you can still support tort reform by joining
the DCMS and the TMA, because the TMA’s
policy supports tort reform.
If you are an individual who supports
issues supported by the Republican party,
and you vote your conscience that way,
you can still support Medicaid expansion by
joining the DCMS and the TMA, because the
TMA’s policy supports Medicaid expansion.
We often hear individuals express anger
at the AMA or TMA and don’t want to join
because of a policy that they don’t agree
with. But how often does any individual
agree with everything that you believe in?
Most of us have diff erent views and diff erent
reasons for our political convictions. If
you are one of the actively practicing physicians
who is not a member of the DCMS
because you disagree with a policy, I urge
you to join the DCMS and TMA so that you
can get involved and complain about the
policy, and maybe eff ect change.
There are medical issues that are supported
more by progressive platforms, and
other medical issues that are supported
more by conservative platforms. We all
have individual beliefs that ultimately guide
us as to which lever we pull in the voting
booth, but regardless, there is no one platform
that supports the House of Medicine
except the House of Medicine Party.
While we all have our own individual
beliefs, the House of Medicine should not
be conservative or liberal. The House of
Medicine should comprise doctors, not
Democrats or Republicans. Everyone in this
room wants the same outcome: a community
that has high-quality healthcare
that is accessible and aff ordable. We may
have diff erent thoughts about how best to
accomplish that goal, but we all want great
healthcare for our community, our families
and ourselves.
The Value of the DCMS
During the early years of the DCMS, the
Society existed to promote medical education
by asking other members to present
interesting cases or lectures on various
topics. Another role the DCMS had was to
promote medical standards and the medical
profession. Local physicians would join
to educate themselves as a form of CME,
and to indicate that they were dedicated
to practicing medicine with high standards
of care. Eventually, the role of the DCMS
and state medical associations focused on
addressing political and legislative issues
aff ecting physicians.
Today, the DCMS and TMA are professional
organizations that advocate for
physicians and our patients. Advocacy is an
important aspect of our mission because
physicians and medicine in general are
subject to increasing state and federal
regulations. While physicians may choose
to individually participate in the legislative
process, most of us simply don’t have the
time and resources to advise or lobby our
representatives about medical issues. As a
result, physicians will “organize” in the form
of our DCMS and TMA to share resources to
advocate for physicians and our patients.
While joining the DCMS may lead to
development of your professional career,
networking opportunities and practice
resources, our professional organizations
advocate for physicians (and patients)
to eff ect change through our legislative
process. Over the years and recently, there
have been issues with outside forces that
have aff ected the doctor-patient relationship.
Regardless of whether these outside
forces are federal or state laws, insurance
companies, and now corporations (as
many private practices have consolidated
over that past two decades), our professional
organizations collectively represent
our best interest.
As an example, as of January 1, 2022, the
federal No Surprises Act (NSA) went into
eff ect and prohibits balance billing certain
patients under certain circumstances. While
it was intended to protect patients from
unexpected medical bills, the NSA created
an Independent Dispute Resolution process
that was unfair.
What made it unfair? In the event of a
dispute, the arbitrator will determine that
the Qualifying Payment Amount that is set
by insurance companies will be deemed
the “appropriate out-of-network rate.” The
primary reason that physicians are outof
network is because payments off ered
from an insurance company (or Medicare)
are deemed too low. Physicians in general
want to be in-network so that we can care
for more patients. Creating a law that
designated the insurance company rate to
be the Qualifying Payment Amount gives
the insurance companies no incentive to
expand physician networks or to negotiate
fairly with physicians.
4 | DALLAS MEDICAL JOURNAL • April 2022
Our TMA fi led suit in federal court in
Tyler, asking the court to remove the unfair
resolution process from the bill, which was
decided in favor of the TMA. This is a major
victory for physicians. For those active physicians
who are not members of the DCMS
and TMA, please join to support our professional
organizations.
Over the past two years, the DCMS also
managed to complete a couple of other
tasks that may have gone unnoticed:
a. Website: We have a new website
that went live on September 30,
2021. This new and improved site is
updated with pertinent information
that most of us would fi nd useful. So,
if you haven’t visited our new site,
please consider this a formal invitation
to do so.
b. Logo: Guided by the Communications
Committee, the board of the
DCMS approved a new and modernized
logo to refl ect our contemporary
brand in the summer of 2021.
c. In 2020, the DCMS created another
award, the DCMS Champion of
Science and Medicine Award, to
recognize those in government or
academics that adhered to the
principles of science during challenging
times.
d. New DCMS headquarters: On January
31, 2022, the DCMS Foundation
sold our current headquarters to a
developer and is currently leasing
back the property until we can acquire
a new location. Currently, the
DCMS is close to signing a contract
for our new location. Please stay
tuned!
e. Museum: We hope to establish a
museum in a portion of the new
building that will house the historic
documents of the DCMS and medical
artifacts from Dallas County,
some of which date back to 1876!
Many years ago, when contemplating
the fi eld of medicine, I was told something
that was every bit as true then as it is today,
and that is that medicine is the best profession
in the world. We are all members of this
great profession and should strive to remember
that while we won’t always agree
with one another, we should always respect
one another as we work toward achieving
our common goals.
In the words of Dr. Donald W. Seldin, “The
DCMS constitutes a shield of medicine so
that physicians can decide such issues as
the relief of pain, the prevention of disability,
and the prevention of death. This organization
constitutes the barrier that allows
physicians to set standards to incorporate
moral principles into scientifi c discoveries
so that they can apply themselves with
wisdom to patients.” Like others before me,
I pledge to do my best to carry the torch, or
in this case, the Rod of Asclepius. I look forward
to serving you as our president. DMJ