SAN DIEGO — The American Medical Association (AMA) honored Dale Mahlman, former executive vice president of the Nebraska Medical Association (NMA), with the Medical Executive Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors a medical association executive who has contributed substantially to the goals and ideals of the medical profession.

“A tireless advocate, leader, and evangelist for organized medicine, Dale Mahlman believes passionately that engaged membership at the state and national levels are extremely important in the day-to-day life of a physician,” said AMA President Patrice A. Harris, M.D., M.A. “Throughout his tenure, Mahlman leveraged his legislative acumen and personal relationships to protect Nebraskans and their physicians, winning key battles to sustain and optimize Nebraska’s Hospital medical Liability Act and protect the state’s motorcycle helmet law and ban on smoking in public places.”

As Executive Vice President of the NMA, Mahlman created a set of guiding principles related to public health advocacy and partnered with the state of Nebraska to tackle the opioid epidemic. In addition to his policy work, Mahlman developed and implemented the NMA Health Plan, which provides member physicians, staff and their families with affordable health care options.

Mahlman also created and then shepherded the work of the NMA Task Force on Health Care for All, which established principles related to advocacy for the public health of citizens. Many of those policies remain NMA policy to this day.

The AMA presented the award to Mahlman during the 2019 AMA Interim Meeting.