American Medical Association in the News

AMA in the News covers media coverage and mentions about the American Medical Association. Find articles recognizing our efforts in health care, advocacy, medical education and improvements in public health. Read coverage on the achievements of our leadership and the members of the AMA community.

Cyberattack on UnitedHealth firm forces doctors to dig into personal savings to stay afloat
1. CNBC, April 30, 2024
2. McAneny founded a multidisciplinary private practice with another physician in New Mexico in 1987. The practice now supports a staff of 280 people and offers a range of services, including cancer care. She also served as the president of the American Medical Association, or AMA, a research and advocacy group that represents physicians, from 2018 to 2020.
America’s health system is still in crisis after its biggest cyberattack ever—but the ‘catastrophe’ is just a blip for the giant company that got hacked
1. Fortune, April 23, 2024
2. “I think most physicians had no idea that Change Healthcare touches more than a third of all health care transactions in the nation,” says Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, the president of the American Medical Association (AMA) and an anesthesiologist, who adds the episode has been eye-opening when it comes to how “a single dominant player is driving so much of what’s happening.”
FTC poised to shake up health care
1. PoliticoPRO, April 22, 2024
2. The American Medical Association's House of Delegates voted to oppose noncompetes for doctors at for-profit and nonprofit hospitals, hospital systems or who are employed by staffing firms. The AMA has noted that some doctors who are employers and own physician practices may support "reasonable noncompetes," while employed physicians might support banning the clauses. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)
Say hello to your addiction risk score—courtesy of the tech industry
1. New York Times, April 20, 2024
2. “I create a lot of pain when I operate,” said Bobby Mukkamala, MD, who leads the American Medical Association’s Substance Use and Pain Task Force. “The nose and the face are very painful places to have procedures done.” Consequently, it is difficult to avoid prescribing opioids to manage pain. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)
The Supreme Court must consider science, not pseudo-science, in public health rulings
1. KevinMD, April 16, 2024
2. Jack Resneck Jr., MD, served as president of the American Medical Association from June 2022 to June 2023. For more than 20 years, Dr. Resneck has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to organized medicine.
UnitedHealth’s first-quarter report will offer a window into Change cyberattack costs
1. CNBC, April 15, 2024
2. UnitedHealth said it has provided $4.7 billion in no-interest loans to providers, though the American Medical Association said more than half of physician groups surveyed in early April said they’d had to use personal loans to maintain operations.
Change Healthcare cyberattack continues to affect doctors: ‘Practices will close’
1. Chief Healthcare Executive, April 15, 2024
2. Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, president of the AMA, said the cyberattack has caused “tremendous financial strain” for physician practices.
UnitedHealth hack looms over first-quarter earnings report
1. Reuters, April 15, 2024
2. Some providers are still unable to access medical claims and payments processing, a recent survey (PDF) by the American Medical Association showed.
Change Healthcare faces another ransomware threat—and it looks credible
1. Wired, April 12, 2024
2. On Wednesday, the American Medical Association said “serious disruptions continue” across physician practices. A survey of AMA members, conducted between March 26 and April 3, found 80 percent of clinicians had lost revenue and many are using their own personal finances to cover a practice’s expenses.
Change Healthcare cyberattack inflicts severe damage on physician practices
1. Medical Economics, April 12, 2024
2. The American Medical Association (AMA) has disclosed the profound and lasting repercussions of the Change Healthcare cyberattack, illustrating the precarious state of physician practices across the United States. The findings, unveiled in an informal survey report, underscore a landscape fraught with financial turmoil and jeopardized patient care in the wake of the devastating hack.
Financial fallout continues from Change cyberattack
1. Healthcare Finance News, April 12, 2024
2. Over three-quarters of physician practices have experienced severe disruptions since the Feb. 21 Change Healthcare cyberattack, according to an American Medical Association survey of state medical associations and national medical specialty societies.
Doctors financially strained following cyber attack on insurance company
1. KOAA News, April 11, 2024
2. The American Medical Association now warns many doctors' offices may close due to the financial strain.
AMA survey finds economic, patient-care impact of Change Healthcare cyber-attack ongoing
1. DOT Med, April 11, 2024
2. The American Medical Association (AMA) today released informal survey findings (PDF) showing the ongoing, devastating impact of the Change Healthcare cyber-attack, which threatens the viability of physician practices across the country, and according to respondents, has serious implications for patient care.
Small practices left vulnerable after Change Healthcare cyberattack, with some considering bankruptcy
1. Radiology Business, April 11, 2024
2. “Despite UHG’s assurances, serious disruptions continue,” the American Medical Association said in a Wednesday news update.
Physician practices struggle after Change Healthcare cyberattack: Unpaid claims, staff strain and potential closures
1. HIT Consultant, April 11, 2024
2. The AMA survey underscores the vulnerability of physician practices and the potential domino effect of disruptions in health care IT systems.
Providers still navigating Change outage as systems are restored
1. Modern Healthcare, April 10, 2024
2. “The disruption caused by this cyberattack is causing tremendous financial strain,” AMA President Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, said in a news release Wednesday. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)
Physicians report widespread financial turmoil due to Change Healthcare cyberattack
1. Health IT Security, April 10, 2024
2. More than 77 percent of American Medical Association (AMA) survey (PDF) respondents reported experiencing service disruptions since Feb. 21 and are still dealing with the effects of the attack. About 1,400 individuals responded to the AMA’s survey, which was conducted between March 26 and April 3. Most responses came from practices with fewer than 10 physicians, highlighting the impact of the cyberattack on small practices.
AMA: 80% of docs have lost revenue amid disruptions from Change Healthcare cyberattack
1. Fierce Healthcare, April 10, 2024
2. Most physicians felt the disruption caused by the cyberattack on Change Healthcare, and many were still seeing the effects in early April, more than a month after the hacking was revealed, according to a new survey from the American Medical Association (AMA).
4 in 5 physicians lost revenue in Change Healthcare cyberattack, AMA says
1. Forbes, April 10, 2024
2. “The disruption caused by this cyber-attack is causing tremendous financial strain,” said AMA President Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, “These survey data show, in stark terms, that practices will close because of this incident, and patients will lose access to their physicians. The one-two punch of compounding Medicare cuts and inability to process claims as a result of this attack is devastating to physician practices that are already struggling to keep their doors open.”
More patients are losing their doctors—and trust in the primary care system
1. KFF Health News, April 2, 2024
2. The American Medical Association’s president, Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, recently called the physician shortage a “public health crisis.”