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AMA advocates for safeguarding health insurance, 911 services, immigration reform

On the last day of voting at its 2017 annual meeting, the AMA approved new policies safeguarding insurance across state lines, protecting funding for 911 services and ensuring that international physicians and medical students are able to practice medicine and obtain training in the United States, according to two separate press releases.

Adding to current AMA policy, which supports the sale of health insurance products across state lines, the new policy will ensure that patient and provider protection of products are consistent with and enforceable under the laws of the state where the patient lives, according to the release.

“Health care markets need increased competition, as too many of our patients face too few choices when seeking coverage,” Russell W. H. Kridel, MD, AMA Board Member, said in the release. “But in expanding these opportunities, we must ensure that the insurance products being sold comply with state laws intended to protect consumers.”

In addition, AMA advocated for the development of state and federal guidelines to discourage reallocation of 911 funding to unrelated services. AMA noted that a lack of funding and regional coordination weakened efforts to streamline 911 services and that $223 million collected as 911 fees were used for purposes other than 911 services by eight states.

“The public depends on 911 services as a lifeline to medical care,” Kridel said. “With lives on the line, we need to make sure the funds that are set aside to update those services are not used to plug budget holes in other areas.”

Furthermore, to ensure that patients are adequately cared for in light of recent attempts to restrict immigration policy by President Donald Trump, the AMA promoted the reinstitution of premium processing of H-1B visas and apt processing for all visas in general, according to another press release.

In the release, AMA announced that it will work with other organizations to assess the impact of immigration reform on patient access to care, overall physician supply and residency and fellowship programs.

“Restricting travel based on where a person is from or the religion they practice goes against the very principles and policies that the AMA has adopted over the years to enhance diversity in the physician workforce and improve patient access to quality care,” Andrew W. Gurman, MD, AMA Immediate Past President, said in the release. “The AMA strongly supports and recognizes the valuable contributions that international medical graduates, students and residents make to American medicine, especially the significant role they play in providing care to patients in rural and underserved communities. Given that one out of every four physicians practicing in the United States is an international medical graduate, we strongly urge the federal government to rethink its immigration policies to ensure there are enough available physicians to care for our most vulnerable patients in our most underserved communities.”

The AMA also vowed to combat laws and regulations that deny persons holding a current legal visa, green card or student visa from entering or reentering the United States solely based on their country of origin and/or religion, according to the release. – by Alaina Tedesco

Disclosure: Healio Internal Medicine was unable to confirm relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.