A doctor’s medical license has reportedly been suspended by the Texas Medical Board after he refused to comply with Governor Greg Abbott’s mask mandate in 2020.
The mask mandate was put in place by the governor in the hopes of slowing the spread of COVID-19.
A patient reported Dr. Eric Hensen to the Texas Medical Board in 2020. Hensen owns Lonestar Ear, Nose, and Throat and is a doctor of osteopathic medicine.
The Texas Medical Board sent Hensen a letter in 2021 outlining his alleged violation of Governor Abbott’s executive order requiring masks to be worn in most public spaces. The letter required him to turn over medical records and his office’s health policies.
The board also required Hensen to comply with a remediation plan that included continuing medical education, a jurisprudence test, and a $500 fine, among other requirements. The board threatened to admonish Hensen on a national medical database if he refused to comply.
Hensen was reportedly unable to comply with many of the remediation plan’s requirements and is now filing a lawsuit against the Texas Medical Board.
The board, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate, consists of seven public members and twelve physicians who serve six-year terms.
The board supported Governor Abbott’s decision to enforce mask mandates throughout the state, passing emergency rule changes. In response to Executive Order GA-19, the Texas Medical Board released rules requiring masks:
“A mask must be worn by both the patient and physician or the physician’s delegate when in proximity of the patient (meaning less than a 6-foot distance between the patient and the physician or the physician’s delegate).”
Governor Abbott reversed most public mask mandates within months of his initial order, but the Texas Medical Board continued to require masks in medical facilities well into 2021.
The Dallas Express contacted Hensen’s practice and the Texas Medical Board for comment but did not receive a response from either by the time of publication.
