The American Medical Association (AMA) gathered physician and medical student leaders from all corners of medicine at its Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates, held in November every year, to shape guiding policies on emerging health care topics. We have gathered some of the policies and outcomes from this year’s meeting.
AMA adopts policies to address challenges in medical education
The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates convened its Interim Meeting and adopted a series of policies to address challenges in medical education and the physician workforce. New policies aim to enhance resource allocation for rural health care, streamline Continuing Medical Education (CME) reporting, and improve compensation and benefits for medical fellows.
AMA adopts new public health policies to improve health of nation
The new policies adopted on the final voting day of voting at the AMA Interim Meeting include advocating for safeguards to protect children and adolescents using social media, protecting the public from mpox, improving rural access to comprehensive cancer care, urging private and public payors to cover donated human breast milk, and reducing sodium intake to improve public health.
AMA furthers policy to address nation’s growing drug supply shortages
With drug shortages reaching the highest they have been in a decade, the AMA adopted policy during the Interim Meeting of its House of Delegates furthering its work to address this worsening public health issue. The AMA’s new policy supports efforts to encourage federal review and oversight of the practice by compounding pharmacies to advertise drugs that are actively in shortage, combat artificial drug shortages, and offer incentives to manufacturers seeking to invest in manufacturing processes.
Federal government must simplify Medicare sign-up
Physicians and medical students at the Interim Meeting urged the federal government to clarify the process of signing up for Medicare so seniors can avoid onerous penalties that can burden them for years.
Legislative action needed when insurers won’t pay for preauthorized care
Prior authorization signifies that the health plan has reviewed the medical necessity of the treatment and deemed it appropriate for coverage. Physicians and medical students at the AMA Interim Meeting of House of Delegates voted to adopt policy that deemed the insurer vetting process as more than adequate for payment after the services are performed.
