If you are retired or thinking about retirement, you’ve probably heard that medical expenses are often the biggest drain on retirement savings. According to some estimates, the average couple will need $295,000 in today's dollars for medical expenses in retirement, and this doesn’t include the costs of long-term care.

According to data compiled by the Texas Medical Association and other organizations, even before the pandemic approximately five million Texans – more than one-sixth of the state’s population – were uninsured. Then the pandemic hit, leading to layoffs and furloughs which caused many who were previously insured to lose their coverage.

Do you work for a hospital, medical group or medical center?

If so, as an employed physician, it’s likely you have disability insurance. It’s also likely that your coverage is provided as part of your group benefits package.

And while this may be a valuable benefit for most working physicians, we find that many of our members may not be aware that the disability insurance provided by their employer can have certain limitations.

If you or someone you love are diagnosed with a serious illness, you must make important decisions with great urgency. And when a life is on the line, you are likely not thinking of the financial impact of the decisions you make. You would use all your resources to create a plan with the best outcome, no matter the cost. And those costs would accumulate quickly.

At times like these, additional funds to cover whatever needs you have would be most welcome. That is exactly what critical illness insurance provides.

Although we never want to believe that we could become severely ill, as a physician, you know that it happens to the best of people. A serious illness can leave the patient and their family reeling; not just emotionally, but also financially.

If you should become seriously ill, Critical Illness insurance can help relieve the financial burden and support your healing. Because our mission is to help protect Texas physicians, TMA Insurance Trust is providing members with Guaranteed Acceptance for $20,000 of TMA Member Critical Illness insurance, now through March 12.*

The face of medicine is changing. What used to be a male-dominated field is undergoing a historic shift. According to initial enrollment data, at medical schools across Texas women are expected to comprise the majority of the graduating class of 2021.

Whether you are a new physician or one of the many women who paved the way leading to this moment, you can be proud of the accomplishment.

Being a physician is challenging even in the best of times. However, since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, physicians have been under relentless pressures. Many physicians are suffering from overwork and emotional exhaustion while others are grappling with chronic worry about the financial fallout from months of lower patient volumes and lost revenue.

How many times have you heard it said: In life there are few guarantees.

As a physician you know this is especially true when it comes to our health. Like everyone else, we all face the possibility that one day we may have to confront a serious illness in our own life.