The Texas Medical Association has awarded U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, the 2024 Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his nearly 50-year career spanning an obstetrics-gynecology practice in Lake Dallas and 11 terms in Congress.
The award was presented earlier this month at TMA’s annual conference, TexMed, in Dallas.
Burgess attributed his political career to TMA, through which he ran in 2001 for his first elected office: alternate delegate in the Texas Delegation to the American Medical Association.
Having “caught the bug,” Burgess went on to run for Congress with TMA’s support, the organization said. Burgess won a 2002 election to represent North Texas’ U.S. House District 26.
“This is a wonderful award, and I am really so appreciative of it, but none of this would have happened without the TMA,” he said at the conference. “The TMA was there for me.”
TMA said Burgess also has supported fellow physicians.
Focusing on laws to improve healthcare
Since his 2003 swearing-in, Burgess has risen through the ranks to become a senior member of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce and formerly chaired the committee’s Health Subcommittee. In those roles, Burgess shepherded health-related legislation through the lawmaking process, TMA said.
Burgess also authored, sponsored, or backed more than 27 health-related laws, including the Medicare Provide Payment Modernization Act of 2015, which repealed the Sustainable Growth Rate formula that Medicare had used to calculate physician payment. With its passage, Burgess and TMA demonstrated the efficacy of Texas physician advocacy on a national stage and established a playbook for future Medicare payment reform.
TMA said that Burgess also championed legislation to improve maternal health outcomes and contributed to the 2016 passage of the 21st Century Cures Act, which funded the National Institutes of Health and advanced biomedical research.
More recently, Burgess sponsored the Patient Access to Quality Health Care Act (House Resolution 977), which would repeal the federal ban on creating and expanding physician-owned hospitals. TMA said he also advocated for a more robust federal response to the Change Healthcare cyberattack and other safeguards of physician practice viability.
“We’ve still got work to do, and we will get it done,” Burgess said during TexMed’s opening session. While bestowing the award, TMA President Ray Callas, M.D., lauded Dr. Burgess’ reputation and generous mentorship.
“As our congressman, Dr. Burgess has been a constant advocate for the House of Medicine,” he said.
Burgess announced in November 2023 that he would not seek re-election, his current term ends in January.
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