Advocacy never stops. Those seeking to eliminate physician-led care are always working, always thinking, always planning, which requires our national and state advocacy efforts to outpace these dangerous efforts.
Texas may appear to some to have a slower advocacy-related schedule because the legislature only meets for six months every two years to consider legislation. If a bill dies in one session, it will be a long wait before that legislative effort can be tried again. It is incorrect to think that this means the ground does not shift during the roughly 18 months when the legislature is not in session. Regulatory activities continue regardless of our legislative session. Interim committees, hearings, and campaign events are held. Each of these represents an opportunity for policy to be interpreted, shifted, or outright turned upside down.
A prime example of policy manipulation that could have negatively impacted anesthesiology occurred this past spring. The...
