Op-Ed from the Texas Academy of Family Physicians

Summary: Last week, Governor Abbott held a couple of press conferences with HHS Secretary R.F. Kennedy, Jr., in which he thanked the secretary for working with the state to “make Texas healthy again,” and said the state must “double down on primary care.” With RFK’s campaign to “Make America Healthy Again,” Texas finds itself facing a great opportunity to reorient our health care system from hospital-centric “sick care” to patient-centered “health care,” prioritizing wellness over illness, patients over profits, and outcomes over procedures.

The author argues that by investing in primary care, Texas and the nation can reform our system into one that puts people first, keeps them healthier longer, and uses hospitals for what they do best — not as overextended default providers, but as high