I hope that you are having a good summer. Hard to believe we are halfway through it and it will be football time soon (Guns Up!). Just two topics today—one fun (but with a purpose) and another a little on the serious side.
First off, I would like to inform you that nominations for this year’s Best of Lubbock Contest sponsored by the Lubbock Avalanche Journal are open from July 5th – July 19th. Once the nominations are tallied, the top five nominees will go onto the final ballot. Voting will begin about 3 weeks later. Texas Tech Physicians hopes to be a nominee and winner, as we currently hold the title of Best Physician. This is an important recognition to many, including us, as evidenced by signs proudly displayed in various businesses in town. If you are of mind to do so, please nominate Texas Tech Physicians. If the nomination period is closed as you read this, please think about voting (assuming we are a final nominee in the general voting portion). If nominated, we will send a reminder.
Switching gears to a different subject, there is a major lawsuit going on that is of interest to health care providers. A federal district judge in North Texas declared that the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare” law is unconstitutional in its entirety after Congress removed the tax penalty for individuals who chose to remain uninsured in 2017. The Texas ruling is being reviewed before the 5thCircuit Court of Appeals, with those who favor it saying that even if one portion of the law is found to be unconstitutional, the other hundreds of provisions it encompasses should stand.
The court is expected to rule in the coming weeks. The key issue that is of interest to Texas Tech Physicians is what will become of the subsidized health coverage of about 1 million Texans, a spread of low-cost services guaranteed to all individuals with health insurance, and the law’s popular protections for patients with preexisting conditions. We are not taking a side, of course. We are saying as health providers, this one “bears watching.”
Have a good week.