AMA: Congress moves health care in wrong direction

Statement attributable to:
Bobby Mukkamala, M.D.
President, American Medical Association  

“Today is a sad and unnecessarily harmful day for patients and health care across the country, and its impact will reverberate for years. Care will be less accessible, and patients may simply forego seeing their physician because the lifelines of Medicaid and CHIP are severed.

“This is bad for my patients in Flint, Michigan, and it is devastating for the estimated 11.8 million people who will have no health insurance coverage as a result of this bill.

“The American Medical Association’s mission is promoting the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health. This bill moves us in the wrong direction. It will make it harder to access care and make patients sicker. It will make it more likely that acute, treatable illnesses will turn into life-threatening or costly chronic conditions. That is disappointing, maddening, and unacceptable.”

The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care.  The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises and, driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.