At the 2023 AMA Interim Meeting, the health equity open forum highlighted the process for developing the AMA's 2024-2025 Strategic Plan to Embed Racial Justice and Advance Health Equity. Following this session, our AMA invites delegates, alternate delegates, staff of professional societies, and additional interested parties to complete our Equity Strategic Planning survey by today, Tuesday, November 21.

• AMA Delegates / Alternate Delegates: https://survey.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aXDKaQGpbYrR3v0
• Additional Interested Parties: https://survey.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0iUXg3WQeipGqTs

The survey will gather your recommendations to inform elements of our AMA’s external facing 2024-2025 equity strategic plan. The survey will take at minimum 10 minutes to complete. All data will be anonymous. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact: Dr. Bill Jordan (william.jordan@ama-assn.org).

The CAP worked on the following policy during the meeting:

Medicare Payment Reform

Medicare physician payment was a top priority for delegates—with the support of the Pathology Section Council and CAP, the House of Delegates adopted new policy to “continue to prioritize reforming the Medicare payment system to ensure the continued economic viability of medical practice”—with specific focus on stopping the 3.37% cut and achieving sustainable annual Medicare payment increases.

Advocating on Self-Referral

CAP leaders were successful in urging the House of Delegates not to adopt a policy calling on the AMA to reverse a blanket ban on physician self-referral. The Physician Self-Referral Law, also known as the Stark law, makes it illegal for a physician to refer Medicare or Medicaid patients to any entity in which that physician, or an immediate family member, has a financial stake, with certain exceptions. With extensive experience as a quality standards-setting organization, the CAP believes that reform to the Physician Self-Referral Law should be approached cautiously and only with appropriate guardrails to address improper utilization and protect patient care. It is critical that the AMA avoid making changes to the Stark law that could have unintended consequences on physician self-referrals, leading to increased improper utilization, disruptive and/or abusive behavior/practices, and unnecessary costs to the Medicare program.

Scope of Practice

The House of Delegates reaffirmed existing policy to maintain the authority and oversight of state medical boards in the regulation of non-physician health professionals, and also reaffirmed policy on Truth in Advertising. Delegates also referred for study by the AMA Council on Legislation a proposed policy directing the AMA to draft model legislation requiring “all facilities that imply the provision of emergency medical care have the real-time, on-site presence of a physician.” Finally, CAP leaders attended the AMA’s Scope of Practice Partnership meeting and learned about the latest efforts to combat scope creep. Fighting scope creep is a critical component of the AMA Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians. Patients deserve care led by physicians—the most highly educated, trained and skilled health professionals. Together with the CAP, the AMA vigorously defends the practice of medicine against scope of practice expansions that threaten patient safety.

Health System Reform

The AMA maintained its opposition to single-payer health reform after delegates discussed a proposal during reference committee at the Interim Meeting. The AMA has longtime, extensive policies that support a pluralistic system that ensures choice of coverage for patients and autonomy of practice for physicians. The AMA has advocated to shape numerous major health system reform proposals in recent decades. Learn more about the AMA vision on health system reform.