Robert Bennett, VP of medical economics, joined TMA in June of 2020. The Division of Medical Economics represents and advocates for TMA in state and federal regulatory, socioeconomic, and health policy through support and guidance to public, private, and legislative entities, and through development of association policy related to socioeconomics. The division provides staff support to the Council on Socioeconomics; Committee on Health Information Technology; Committee on Medical Home and Primary Care; Select Committee on Medicaid, CHIP, and the Uninsured; Task Force on Health Care Coverage; and Committee on Rural Health. 

He previously served as federal regulatory manager for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) for 10 years. He was responsible for forming AAFP responses to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Food and Drug Administration, Government Accountability Office, and other federal agencies. Prior to joining AAFP, Mr. Bennett worked for the Medical Group Management Association as a federal legislative lobbyist focusing on Medicare payments and administrative simplification issues for medical practices. He also worked for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Office of the Administrator and CMS Office of Communications as a liaison to physician and other medical organizations.

Carra Benson, MS, CPC, CDEO, CPMA, CDEO, is TMA's practice management and reimbursement service manager with approximately 20 years’ experience in health care, working with physician practices and in hospital systems. Her expertise includes revenue cycle management, coding and documentation audits, credentialing, staff training, and practice operations.

Shannon Vogel, AVP of Health Information Technology, has been at the Texas Medical Association (TMA) since 1999.  In her role, she oversees HIT advocacy, education, and resources for Texas physicians. Shannon is a Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) fellow and is past president of the Austin chapter. She received her bachelor’s degree from St. Edward’s University in Austin and master’s degree in health informatics from the School of Biomedical Informatics at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.