AMA Approves Medicare Reform Plan

Delegates at the AMA House of Delegates Interim Meeting in Honolulu approved a report yesterday that expands on longstanding AMA policy supporting the concept of providing Medicare beneficiaries with “defined contributions” that would be adjusted to medical inflation and with a choice of health care plans from which to purchase coverage. The report also recommends a set of principles that should be included in a defined-contribution system to ensure that Medicare remains a viable program that provides affordable and accessible health insurance coverage for the poorest and sickest beneficiaries. Additionally, approval of the report puts the AMA on record as supporting Medicare funding of graduate medical education.

During the extensive reference-committee debate that led up to the report's approval, many delegates noted that Medicare is not sustainable as currently structured.

Pictured testifying during reference-committee hearings is psychiatrist John McIntyre, M.D., a past president of APA and a member of the AMA’s Council on Medical Services, which developed the report.

(Image: Mark Moran)