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DJP 3-19-2010 afternoon ALERT: AMA comes out in support of Senate bill now in House; AMA Phone conference summary; LAGNIAPPE: Time for a JAZZ Funeral for AMA so we can remember the good times in the past.

DJP 3-19-2010 afternoon ALERT: AMA comes out in support of Senate bill now in House; AMA Phone conference summary; LAGNIAPPE: Time for a JAZZ Funeral for AMA so we can remember the good times in the past.

Wrong phone number for conference call send out by AMA as I stated in last email. Dr. Lazarus stated a correction email was sent out by AMA. I apparently am not on email list from AMA for HoD even though as a past-president I sit in the House of Delegates as a non-voter with microphone privileges. I had to call AMA to get correct phone number.

Speaker of AMA House of Delegates Dr. Lazarus stated at start of conference call that a press conference was being conducted by AMA President Rohack at same time of AMA House of Delegates conference call.

Dr. Lazarus said, in part:

————–

After carefully considering… H.R. 3590 should be passed.

Quotes 2.095 and 10.01

We don’t subscribe to end justifies the means…

Starting over is not the answer…

Pending bill moves Country forward…

The reconciliation process precluded changes….

AMA will be relentless…

IPAB remains in bill etc, etc,

DJP comment: IPAB is Independent Payment Advisory Board with significant authority.

————–

I was given the opportunity to ask a question and I asked that the comment that Dr. Lazarus stated about private contracting be repeated as I missed part of it. Dr. Lazarus read that sentence again and in summary stated that private contracting without penalty is neither better or worse in this proposed legislation but AMA will continue to talk with the Administration about this. I then summarized that the message is physicians and patients still cannot privately contract without penalty.

DJP comment to this email list: This means we did not get AMA policy implemented into this bill. The Liberty right of patients and physicians remains abridged.

While the phone conference still was going on, I went to the AMA Website and found this press release:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/health-system-reform/ama-supports-reform-passage.shtml

AMA Supports House Passage of Health System Reform

Will work with Congress and the administration to make critical changes that cannot be addressed through the reconciliation process

For immediate release:

March 19, 2010

Washington, D.C. – After careful review and consideration, the American Medical Association (AMA) today announced its qualified support for the current health reform bill as a step toward providing coverage to all Americans and improving our nation’s health system.

“The pending bill is imperfect, but we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good when it comes to something as important as the health of Americans,” said J. James Rohack, M.D., AMA president. “By extending health coverage to the vast majority of the uninsured, improving competition and choice in the insurance marketplace, promoting prevention and wellness, reducing administrative burdens, and promoting clinical comparative effectiveness research, this bill will help patients and their physicians.”

“While the final product is certainly not what we would have devised, we strongly support the parts of this bill that are desperately needed by millions of Americans who are struggling to get or keep health insurance coverage,” Dr. Rohack said. “We will continue to work with Congress and the administration to solve important issues that cannot be addressed through the reconciliation process.”

“This is not the last step, but the next step toward real health system reform,” Dr. Rohack said. “We will remain actively engaged with Congress and the administration to ensure that before Congress adjourns there are additional important changes to our health system. Congress must act to preserve access to care for seniors and military families by permanently repealing the Medicare physician payment formula that will cut Medicare payments by 21 percent next month. According to an AARP poll, nearly 90 percent of people age 50 and older are concerned that the Medicare physician payment cuts threaten their access to care.”

“Congress must also move immediately to correct problems with the Independent Payment Advisory Board,” Dr. Rohack said. “The current IPAB framework could result in misguided payment cuts that undermine access to care and destabilize health care delivery. The AMA will be relentless in our pursuit of permanent repeal of the Medicare physician payment formula, corrections to IPAB, and other important changes that we outlined in a letter today to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.”

“Every day physicians see the devastating effect that being uninsured has on the health of our patients: They live sicker and die younger,” Dr. Rohack said. “Physicians dedicate their lives to helping patients live healthier and longer, and we have an historic opportunity to do just that.”

###

Media contact:

Katherine Hatwell

American Medical Association

202-789-7419

katherine.hatwell@ama-assn.org

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AMA now joins American College of Physicians (ACP) in support of this bill.

LAGNAIPPE: Sad day for Medicine. Time to consider a New Orleans Jazz Funeral for our AMA and celebrate the good days.

I will say no more. If I did say more, I would repeat what I said in the earlier DJP Update of today quoting from my speeches in 1978 and in 1985.

Meanwhile, keep the calls going to the House and the Senate. Like the Marines or Special Forces, you don’t need large numbers on your team to win, just smart courageous folks who do their homework, have courage, and don’t give up.

The Q & A continues on conference call but I am going to hit the send button now.

Stay well.

Donald

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