AMA in the News: January 2025

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. AMA keeps its focus on fixing Medicare under Trump, GOP

   1. Crain’s Chicago Business, Jan. 30, 2025
   2. The AMA is focusing on its main priorities of fixing Medicare, fighting insurance company prior authorization, preserving health access and promoting physician-led care, the association advocates said at the meeting. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

2. Insurance companies delay and deny needed health care. Here's how to stop that.

   1. Boston Globe, Jan. 28, 2025
   2. Nearly all physicians (95 percent) reported that prior authorizations 'somewhat or significantly'' increased physician burnout in a recent American Medical Association survey. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

3. Health care organizations change their culture to reduce clinician burnout

   1. Smartbrief, Jan. 23, 2025
   2. The American Medical Association found that in 2023, 48.2% of physicians reported experiencing at least one symptom of burnout, which was a decrease from 53% in 2022.  

4. AMA's 3 asks for the new Congress

   1. Becker’s Hospital Review, Jan. 23, 2025
   2. The American Medical Association said the 119th Congress can create "a lasting legacy of health reform" starting with the expedited passage of three pieces of legislation: Medicare payment reform, Prior Authorization, and extend Telehealth flexibilities. (Free registration is required to view content.)

5. CFO In The Know: The MA Increase

   1. Health Leaders Media, Jan. 23, 2025
   2. "It's unbelievable they're giving insurance companies that had record profits an increase while at the same time cutting payment to physician practices that are struggling to survive," said AMA President Bruce Scott, MD, in a statement.

6. Infographic: 3 steps for boosting physician wellness

   1. Health Leaders Media, Jan. 23, 2025
   2. In 2023, 48.2% of doctors reported experiencing at least one symptom of burnout, according to American Medical Association data.

7. AMA supports MedPAC on payment update

   1. HME News, Jan. 20, 2025
   2. While neither recommendation covers the estimated inflation that physician practices face, both approaches embrace the fact that Medicare payment updates need to be tied to inflation,' said Bruce Scott, MD, president of the AMA.

8. Keeping blood pressure under control is critical. There’s a new option for tough cases

   1. Associated Press, Jan. 18, 2025
   2. To avoid falsely high readings, the American Medical Association has tips: Sit quietly with feet on the floor, legs not crossed. Place the cuff on a bare arm, not over clothing. Don’t dangle the arm —rest it on a table. 

9. MultiPlan, payer allies file to dismiss providers' consolidated antitrust lawsuit

   1. Fierce Healthcare, Jan. 17, 2025
   2. Individual health systems and the American Medical Association have filed cases against MultiPlan in recent months, leading to multidistrict litigation consolidating dozens of plaintiff complaints.

10. MedPAC votes to recommend linking doc pay to MEI, lobbyists push congressional reform

    1. Inside Health Policy, Jan. 16, 2025
    2. AMA President Bruce Scott said Congress should follow MedPAC’s lead and overhaul the physician pay system—including by tying pay to inflation—in the current legislative session. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

11. Medicare advisers back payment boost for doctors, hospitals

    1. Bloomberg Law, Jan. 16, 2025
    2. “When MedPAC forwards its report to Congress in March, the AMA hopes that lawmakers heed MedPAC’s analysis concluding that Medicare payment to physician practices under current law is inadequate and downright threatening to patient access to care,” said a statement from AMA President Bruce A. Scott, MD.
    3. “Unfortunately, in December, Congress failed to stop another cut in Medicare payments for a fifth consecutive year—this time by 2.8%—despite practice costs rising by 3.5% according to Medicare’s own estimate. The AMA is working to reverse those cuts,” Scott said. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

12. Why not tie Medicare payments to inflation?

    1. Becker’s Hospital Review, Jan. 16, 2025
    2. "The Medicare payment system is broken. MedPAC has come up with a thoughtful response that heads in the right direction," Dr. Scott said. "Congress must prioritize Medicare reform this year. The status quo is unsustainable and unhealthy for our country." (Free registration is required to view content.)

13. UnitedHealth lacks antidote for chronic anger

    1. Reuters, Jan. 15, 2025
    2. Nearly all major U.S. metropolitan areas are highly concentrated, opens new tab markets for commercial health insurance and Medicare Advantage, the government program run by private insurers, the American Medical Association found. 

14. 13 numbers on plummeting physician pay

    1. Becker’s ASC, Jan. 15, 2025
    2. "To put it bluntly, Medicare plans to pay us less while costs go up," American Medical Association President Bruce Scott, MD, said in a statement. "You don't have to be an economist to know that is an unsustainable trend, though one that has been going on for decades. For physician practices operating on small margins already, this means it is harder to acquire new equipment, harder to retain staff, harder to take on new Medicare patients, and harder to keep the doors open, particularly in rural and underserved areas." (Free registration is required to view content.)

15. Who’s Who in Chicago Business

    1. Crain’s Chicago Business, Jan. 14, 2025
    2. James Madara, MD: CEO and executive vice president, American Medical Association. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

16. Medicare and telehealth: more restrictive rules could hit patients in 2025

    1. Fortune, Jan. 10, 2025
    2. The telehealth option has proved popular with patients and physicians; three quarter of doctors now provide telehealth appointments, according to the American Medical Association.

17. Do the new CMS rules on prior authorization go far enough?

    1. Medpage Today, Jan. 8, 2025
    2. The AMA agrees that prior authorization is still a big problem, AMA President Bruce Scott, MD, said in a phone interview that was conducted with a press person present. "I think there's a growing awareness across health systems that [prior authorization] is overused, unjustified, and needs to be right-sized," he said. "Patients are becoming increasingly aware of this overused blunt cost-control process by insurance companies. As a result, there is anger that's building and frustration among physicians that has grown as well."

18. Even before U.S. alcohol warning, younger Americans were turning to mocktails

    1. Reuters, Jan. 4, 2025
    2. The American Medical Association in a Friday statement noted that it has warned for years of the increased cancer risk from any alcohol consumption. "Despite decades of compelling evidence of this connection, too many in the public remain unaware of alcohol's risk," it said.

19. Lawsuit in Minnesota deepens pharmacy benefit manager pushback against state regulations

    1. Minnesota Star Tribune, Jan. 3, 2025
    2. Last year, Express Scripts was the nation’s third-largest PBM, according to a recent American Medical Association analysis, with a market share of about 17.1%. 

20. Providers lean on AI startups to limit, challenge insurance denials

    1. Modern Healthcare, Jan. 2, 2025
    2. In June, the American Medical Association said, more than 80% of its members don't always appeal refusals because many don’t think they’ll be successful, have limited time or need to provide urgent care. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)