Dear Primary Care Colleagues, Advocates, and Friends,

COVID-19 has offered an opportunity to rethink, reimagine, and rebuild a better, more cost-effective system of care for all Texans. However, like any form of evolution, meaningful transformation is iterative and requires collaboration at all levels.

The Texas Primary Care Consortium has spent the last few months reflecting on our journey, assessing the challenges and opportunities that await us, and identifying how we can amplify the impact of the work you do every day — all in our pursuit of “Making Primary Care Primary.”

Through this quest, our inspiration and dedication to our mission have grown even stronger as local, state, and national leaders have recognized the value of primary care in addressing our nation and state’s biggest challenges of cost, access, and disparities. We are elevating our commitment to be YOUR connecting force and collective voice for advancing primary care in Texas through a three-pronged strategic approach:
  • Educate – together, we learn how we can foster accessible, equitable, and sustainable primary care for all Texans
  • Activate – together, we support and advance each other on our journey
  • Transform – together, we make our shared vision of a healthier Texas a reality 
 
Moving forward, we plan to expand our focus beyond the annual summit and have already begun work on some exciting new initiatives, such as:
  • an expanded website to serve as your go-to for information and resources related to primary care in Texas
  • a newsletter to keep you informed about TPCC activities, new developments in primary care, and current policy issues across the state and the nation,
  • and research, evaluation, and analysis to assess and address gaps that exist in advancing primary care practice, policies, and systems.

Thank you for joining us on this collective journey to improve the health of all Texans through accessible, equitable, and sustainable primary care!
 
Together in health, 
Sue S. Bornstein, MD, FACP
Executive Director, Texas Medical Home Initiative
Co-Lead, Texas Primary Care Consortium
Ankit Sanghavi, BDS, MPH
Executive Director, Texas Health Institute
Co-Lead, Texas Primary Care Consortium
September 8, 2021 | 11:00am - 12:15pm CT

Join TPCC as we review and discuss the recently released National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report on implementing high-quality primary care and rebuilding the foundation of health care in the US. During this webinar, study committee member, Dr. Jackson Griggs and TPCC co-lead Dr. Sue Bornstein, will contextualize the purpose of the report, share key findings, and walk through the 5-part implementation framework while outlining actionable strategies for powering high-quality primary care in Texas. This webinar has been produced by the Texas Primary Care Consortium with support from Sana.

Register now to participate in the webinar!
9th Annual TPCC Summit
October 14-15, 2021


The 9th Annual Texas Primary Care Consortium (TPCC) Summit will take place virtually on October 14-15, 2021, with a continued focus to improve health of Texans through accessible, equitable, and coordinated person-centered primary care.

Sponsor and exhibitor opportunities are available. Click here to learn more.

Register now to join us virtually!
Texas' Request to Extend Medicaid 1115 Waiver

In April 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rescinded its previous extension of Texas’ Medicaid 1115 Transformation Waiver, which had been approved three months earlier. For a decade, the 1115 waiver has helped pick up the tab for care Texas safety-net hospitals and their affiliated clinics deliver to Medicaid patients, as well as the uninsured and underinsured. 

Now, instead of Texas being able to count on that funding through September 2030, the waiver will expire at the end of September 2022 – unless the state can convince the Biden administration to reconsider its April decision. 

However, with the support of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians, Texas Chapter of the ACP, Texas Pediatric Society, Texas ACOG, Texas Primary Care Consortium and Texas Health Institute, the Texas Medical Association is pushing for CMS to not just reinstate the extension, but also make a long-term commitment to Texas’ entire safety-net system. Until now, 1115 funding has gone almost exclusively to hospitals and certain other clinics, while leaving out many other integral parts of the safety-net equation. In testimony and a written letter to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) in June, TMA and the specialty societies asked HHSC to propose a broader version of the waiver. That includes urging HHSC to establish a Texas-tailored solution for coverage expansion, a proposal medicine also unsuccessfully advocated for during this year’s session of the Texas Legislature.
Primary Care Resources

Primary Care For America is a diverse coalition of key partners focused on educating policy makers and health policy influences about the value of comprehensive, continuous and coordinated primary care.

The US primary care system has absorbed increases in service use generated by the Affordable Care Act without jeopardizing care quality or intensity. 

Over the past 5 years, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Episcopal Health Foundation have collaborated to advance a payment reform agenda among safety net providers, provided insights in addressing the rural hospital closure crisis and furthered the field's understanding of how to integrate social determinants of health within the Medicaid managed care environment. 

Practical guidance and screening tools to help primary care practices collect information on social needs in ways that will be most effective for a practice's patient population. 
The Texas Primary Care Consortium is a statewide collaborative initiative with a mission to advance accessible, continuous, and coordinated person-centered care for all Texans led by Texas Medical Home Initiative in partnership with Texas Health Institute.​​
To learn more about becoming a partner and supporting our work to address the systemic issues of healthcare inequities, high costs and lack of access, please click here.
Texas Primary Care Consortium | txprimarycareconsortium.org