I woke up to a message from New Hampshire. A bill had made it to the state Senate — one that Representative Julie Miles championed after watching me do peer-to-peer calls with insurance reviewers who weren't qualified to be making decisions about my patients. I'm a surgeon in Texas. I had no idea this had traveled that far.
Between cases at Redbud today, I fired off emails to NH Senate members, logged into a YouTube Live, and watched HB 1554 pass.
Here's what it does:
✅ Requires peer reviewers to be actual peers — credentialed, named, with their NPI number and specialty certification on the line
✅ Allows physicians to communicate with that peer reviewer at any point in the prior auth process — not just after a denial or on appeal
This is a patient-centered, common-sense reform. And it happened because someone posted something. Told the truth. Did the right thing.
Thank you, Representative Julie Miles and Senator Tim McGough. New Hampshire just set a standard. I hope other states are paying attention.
Get involved. Speak up. You never know what good it might do.
NFL players with 3 pass TDs of 25+ yards in a game: 182
NFL players with 3 rush TDs in a game: 357
NFL players to do both in the same game: 1 (Josh Allen today)
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Please know that we are just humans, taking the best care of other humans that we possibly can in complex, often broken system.