AMA in the News: August 2024

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.

1. Prior authorization targeted by more and more states

   1. Modern Healthcare, Aug. 27, 2024
   2. The American Medical Association, which opposes restrictive prior authorization polices, reported last week that 10 states—Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming—have approved broad prior authorization bills it supports. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

2. AMA president urges Congress to prioritize physician pay relief, prior authorization reform

   1. Inside Health Policy, Aug. 23, 2024
   2. Congress must enact Medicare reforms aimed at addressing the steady decline in physician pay and reducing administrative hurdles by tying reimbursement to inflation, streamlining Medicare Advantage prior authorization, and exempting doctors with high approval rates from authorization requirements, new American Medical Association President Bruce Scott told Inside Health Policy in an exclusive interview. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

3. CDC, AMA work with physicians on combating health misinformation

   1. Inside Health Policy, Aug. 23, 2024
   2. The American Medical Association (AMA) is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to encourage physicians to combat health misinformation, particularly on the issue of vaccination, after a recent meeting between the agency, the leading doctors’ group and physicians. The move comes as FDA also views misinformation as a major health issue and has sought physicians’ help in educating patients. Newly elected AMA President Bruce Scott, MD, told Inside Health Policy in an exclusive interview. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

4. Federal judge blocks FTC's nationwide noncompete ban

   1. Fierce Healthcare, Aug. 21, 2024
   2. Within health care, the FTC’s rule was lauded by labor groups and organizations representing health care workers, such as the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association.

5. 10 states tackling prior authorization

   1. Becker’s ASC, Aug. 19, 2024
   2. Since January, 10 states have passed laws reforming prior authorization rules in an effort to reduce care delays and save time for physicians and patients, according to an Aug. 19 report from the American Medical Association. 

6. ‘Great on Paper’: Why primary care physicians are reluctant to join value-based care

   1. Med City News, Aug. 18, 2024
   2. The president of the American Medical Association echoed a lot of the challenges laid out in the report.
   3. “AMA research has found that there are numerous barriers, including the complexity of models and the significant variation between value-based care arrangements among payers,” said Bruce A. Scott, MD, president of the AMA. “This complexity and lack of alignment create a heavy administrative burden for many primary care physicians participating in such arrangements — and is a considerable barrier to those contemplating adoption. This is disproportionately true for small, rural, safety net, and independent practices that are already under-resourced and overburdened.”

7. Can $18 billion in opioid settlement funds turn an overdose tide? Ask North Carolina.

   1. Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 16, 2024
   2. Many experts and health organizations—including the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the American Medical Association—recommend that states prioritize funding harm reduction. These programs aim to prevent fatal overdoses in the short term while helping people become sober over time.

8. 10 numbers making physicians nervous

   1. Becker’s ASC, Aug. 15, 2024
   2. 29%. The decline in Medicare physician payment since 2001, when adjusted for inflation, according to the American Medical Association (PDF).

9. Prior authorizations on the rise in Medicare Advantage, report finds

   1. Medpage Today, Aug. 13, 2024
   2. "Repeated investigations by [KFF] strongly suggest that the overuse of prior authorization controls by Medicare Advantage plans results in the denial of medically necessary healthcare," Bruce Scott, MD, president of the American Medical Association (AMA), said in an email to MedPage Today. "The KFF findings mirror physician experiences illustrated in the AMA's latest survey (PDF), which found that excessive authorization controls required by health insurers are responsible for serious harm when necessary medical care is delayed, denied, or disrupted."

10. AMA President: Permanent telehealth needed to spur investment, improve equity

    1. Inside Health Policy, Aug. 13, 2024
    2. American Medical Association President Bruce Scott, MD, told Inside Health Policy he would like to see a permanent extension of telehealth flexibilities pass before pandemic-era waivers expire at the end of the year, citing concerns that medical groups will not invest the necessary infrastructure to maximize virtual care under temporary extensions. “We want a permanent fix,” Scott said in an exclusive interview with IHP’s Luke Zarzecki on Monday (Aug. 12). (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

11. Are changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule driving value in U.S. health care?

    1. Health Affairs, Aug. 12, 2024
    2. Historically, the Resource Use Committee, controlled by the American Medical Association, makes annual recommendations to CMS with respect to updating RVU values. These recommendations are informed by how challenging and time-consuming it is to provide a given service. But the policymaking community largely believes that the Resource Use Committee is tilted towards the interests of specialty and procedural-based care.

12. ASCs vs. HOPDs in 5 numbers

    1. Becker’s ASC, Aug. 12, 2024
    2. The percentage Medicare hospital pay increased from 2001 to 2023. By contrast, Medicare physician payment has only increased by 9% in the same period, according to a report (PDF) by the American Medical Association. 

13. Boozman helping lead charge addressing Medicare payments

    1. Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Aug. 7, 2024
    2. ‘The AMA supports this legislation as a crucial step toward reforming the budget neutrality process to create more stability in the Medicare physician payment system,' American Medical Association President Bruce Scott, MD, told the Democrat-Gazette in a statement. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

14. Docs should start getting ready for upcoming respiratory virus season

    1. Medpage Today, Aug. 6, 2024
    2. Physicians should start preparing now for the upcoming respiratory virus season, according to the CDC in a webinar hosted by Bruce Scott, MD, president of the American Medical Association (AMA) on Tuesday. (Free registration is required to view content.)

15. Chicago's maternal care gap worsening, creating deserts in South and West sides

    1. Crain’s Chicago Business, Aug. 5, 2024
    2. A joint report by the American Medical Association and the Sinai Urban Health Institute finds obstetric and gynecological closures, particularly since 2018, have had a significant negative effect on maternal and infant health in its analysis of maternal care by ZIP code. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

16. Medicare is putting the care of our aging population at risk

    1. Seattle Times, Aug. 2, 2024
    2. This decrease comes on top of cumulative cuts over the last two decades that, according to the American Medical Association, have reduced payment to doctors by 29% (PDF). (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

17. Leading the future of medicine–Dr. Bobby Mukkamala’s journey to AMA Presidency

    1. My City, Aug. 1, 2024
    2. “I probably saw about 40 patients today and many of them will require prior authorization before beginning treatment,” said Mukkamala not long after seeing his final patient one day in early July. “The time my staff and I have to spend trying to secure authorization is not very efficient. Also, Medicare payments are going in the wrong direction, which can make it difficult to hire quality staff and run an effective practice because operational costs have increased by about 20% in recent years, so we need a payment system that makes sense.”

18. Maternity care deserts on South and West Sides see higher infant, maternal death rates

    1. Block Club Chicago, Aug. 1, 2024
    2. A new American Medical Association report studying the impact of OB-GYN clinic closures on maternal and infant health on the city’s South and West sides illustrates glaring disparities in care.