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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – WASHINGTON D.C. – As part of continued health-reform efforts, AMA President J. James Rohack, M.D. sent a letter to President Obama and members of Congress urging action on reforms that will benefit all Americans.
“Our elected leaders need to approach the health-reform debate with a renewed focus on what matters most – health coverage for all Americans as well as providing stability and security for Americans that currently are insured, including Medicare patients,” said Dr. Rohack.
In his letter, Dr. Rohack outlines seven critical elements the AMA has identified as necessary to improve access to affordable, quality care and reduce unnecessary costs in the current system:
§ Health-insurance coverage for all Americans
§ Insurance market reforms that expand choice of affordable coverage and eliminate denials for pre-existing conditions
§ Assurance that health-care decisions will remain in the hands of patients and their physicians, not insurance companies or government officials
§ Investments and incentives for quality improvement, prevention and wellness initiatives
§ Repeal of the Medicare physician payment formula that would trigger steep cuts and threaten seniors’ access to care
§ Implementation of medical liability reforms to reduce the cost of defensive medicine
§ Streamlining and standardizing of insurance claims processing requirements to eliminate unnecessary costs and administrative burdens
“We have already seen physicians, patients and policymakers find common ground on ideas that offer real improvements,” said Dr. Rohack. “The stage is now set for meaningful reform and we must seize it.”
To read Dr. Rohack’s full letter, please visit http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/open-letter-090809.pdf.
To learn more about the AMA’s vision for health-system reform, please visit www.hsreform.com.
Follow AMA on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmerMedicalAssn
About the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association helps doctors help patients by uniting physicians nationwide to work on the most important professional and public health issues. Working together, the AMA’s quarter of a million physician and medical student members are playing an active role in shaping the future of medicine. For more information on the AMA, please visit www.ama-assn.org.
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