Health Care Advocate: June 26, 2025

Table of Contents Senate Parliamentarian Halts Provider Tax Reductions Today, U.S. Senate republicans hit a roadblock on the One Big Beautiful Bill, as the parliamentarian ruled that several health care provisions in the draft bill – including restrictions on Medicaid provider taxes – violate the Byrd Rule. This means that these provisions cannot move forward as written in the package,…

Health Care Advocate: June 19, 2025

Table of Contents Senate “Beautiful Bill” Language Favors Non-Expansion States Congressional Republicans’ arduous pursuit of a major budget reconciliation package took another step this week as the Senate Finance Committee released its language for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. On the issues of provider taxes and state-directed payments – the most scrutinized pieces of the bill by Texas hospital…

Health care leaders gather at a reception last week for a joint meeting of THA's Hospital Physician Executive Constituency Section and Quality & Patient Safety Council. Photo Credit: Theo Werner

Health Care Advocate: June 12, 2025

Table of Contents Federal Budget Update: THA Working to Preserve Provider Taxes THA continues to watch closely and stay involved as the U.S. Senate works this week on the major budget reconciliation package being pursued by congressional Republicans. The Senate Finance Committee is expected to release revised language for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by early next week. THA…

THA Associate General Counsels Nicole Lusardi, J.D. (left), and Heather De La Garza-Barone, J.D. (right), present today at the Texas Healthcare Trustees’ 2025 Healthcare Governance Conference. Photo credit: Natalie Guillot

Health Care Advocate: June 5, 2025

Table of Contents Sweet Sine Die: THA Celebrates Wins as Legislature Adjourns THA emerged taxed but triumphant from Monday’s adjournment sine die of the regular session of the Texas Legislature, having again logged a long list of successes for Texas hospitals and health care during the four-and-a-half months that lawmakers convened in Austin. There were no real surprises related to…

Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals President/CEO John Henderson (left), Harris Health Vice President of Public Policy and Government Relations Micah Rodriguez (center) and THA Senior Director of Health Care Policy Matt Turner (right) celebrate the final day of the 89th Texas Legislature. (Photo Credit: Natalie Guillot)

2025 End-of-Session Member Call

In the final days of the 2025 legislative session, THA hosted a robust End of Session call to brief membership on more than 100 hospital-related bills contemplated this session by the Legislature. THA’s John Hawkins and Carrie Kroll led the call, laying out key wins, challenges and landscape analysis. Also presenting were other members of THA’s lobby team and its…

Health Care Advocate: May 29, 2025

Table of Contents The Final Countdown: Loan Repayment Bill Passes as Session Winds Down With just four days now remaining in the 2025 regular session of the Texas Legislature, THA is keeping a close eye on last-minute activity – especially the prospect of defeated, problematic bills getting amended onto other pieces of legislation. However, the picture has cleared significantly in…

oday, THA hosted a robust End of Session Call to brief membership on more than 100 hospital-related bills contemplated this session by the Texas Legislature. THA’s John Hawkins and Carrie Kroll led the call, laying out key wins, challenges and landscape analysis. THA’s core group working on legislative issues includes members of the association’s advocacy, policy, legal and communications teams. (Photo Credit: Natalie Guillot)

Health Care Advocate: May 22, 2025

Table of Contents GOP’s Major Budget Bill Passes U.S. House This morning, the U.S. House of Representatives passed congressional Republicans’ major domestic policy budget reconciliation bill by a 215-214 vote, sending the bill to the Senate. THA has worked for months to shape discussions and negotiations on the legislation, closely watched in health care sectors nationwide because of lawmakers’ plans…

THA Leadership Fellows play THA's new hospital finance game. (Photo Credit: Natalie Guillot)

Health Care Advocate: May 15, 2025

Table of Contents Committee Advances Federal Bill With Medicaid Cuts Congressional committee markups on portions of the federal budget reconciliation bill began in earnest this week, and the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee advanced its piece of the legislation on Wednesday. That progress quickly followed the committee’s Sunday night release of draft legislation and a THA statement Monday reacting…

THA Associate General Counsel Heather De La Garza-Barone, J.D. (right), testifies before the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. Photo Credit: Natalie Guillot

Health Care Advocate: May 8, 2025

Table of Contents On D.C. Trip, THA Urges Preservation of Medicaid Funding With talks continuing in the nation’s capital over the Republican budget reconciliation bill and the possibility of dramatic Medicaid cuts therein, members of THA’s advocacy team hit Washington, D.C., this week to continue warning against such reductions. THA staff met with the offices of 12 members of the…

THA Senior Director of Policy Analysis Anna Stelter attends a Senate Committee on Local Government hearing as a resource witness. Photo Credit: Natalie Guillot

Health Care Advocate: May 1, 2025

Table of Contents Full Senate Passes Life of the Mother Act The Life of the Mother Act – crafted to clarify the medical emergency exception to Texas’ abortion ban – took its biggest step yet to becoming law, passing the full Senate on Tuesday. The THA-supported measure, Senate Bill 31 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), passed by a unanimous 31-0…