6.14.2012

Members of the American Medical Association House of Delegates want to discuss transitioning Medicare toward a premium-support system at their upcoming June 16-20 meeting in Chicago, and it doesn't look as if they can be stopped from doing so. On the delegates' agenda was a report that included a recommendation that the AMA lend its backing to proposals to transition Medicare to a premium support system—a move promoted by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and other conservative members of Congress. The report was prepared by the AMA Council on Medical Service, which serves as an AMA advisory panel on socio-economic issues, but the council took the report off the agenda.

This move was blasted by former AMA President Dr. Donald Palmisano, a surgeon and attorney based in the New Orleans area, on his website. This was soon followed by the Louisiana delegation introducing a late resolution (PDF) that included the recommendations from the council's report. 

Read the entire story in Modern Physician.