North Carolina delegates at AMA Interim Meeting

 

The NC Medical Society’s delegation to the AMA House of Delegates recently represented our state at the AMA’s Interim Meeting.

The AMA House is comprised of delegates representing state medical societies, national specialty societies, residents and medical students. The House of Delegates serves a core governance function for the AMA in adopting policy and initiating action.

Members of our NCMS delegation to the AMA include:

E. Rebecca Hayes, MD / Chair – Concord
Mary Ann Contogiannis, MD – Greensboro
John A. Fagg, MD – Winston-Salem
Darlyne Menscer, MD – Charlotte
Liana Puscas, MD – Durham
Karen Smith, MD – Raeford

The theme of the meeting was the AMA’s Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians, which guided much of the discussion on the reports and resolutions considered by the House.  Primary among the matters addressed were:

Reproductive care

    • Pregnancy loss as a result of medically necessary treatment is not crime
    • Clarifying ethical guidance on abortion bans
    • Expanding access to abortion care
    • Preserve abortion training in GME

Gun violence

    • Task force established to focus on gun-violence prevention.
    • Grants to support evidence-based firearm violence-interruption programs.
    • Engagement in litigation related to firearm safety.

Better clarity for patients on members of their care team – who is a physician and who is not

Closing the coverage gaps to eliminate care barriers

    • Vaccine coverage under Medicare
    • Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) coverage for HIV
    • Coverage for treating obesity

 Climate change as a public health threat

 Addressing the overdose epidemic

  • Existing AMA policy amended to:
      • Encourage advocacy for harm-reduction policies.
      • Support efforts to increase access to fentanyl test strips and other drug-checking supplies.

 Leave policies for medical students, residents and fellows 

Juvenile justice – incarceration of children and adolescents

 Gender-based treatment of athletes

 Private equity’s impact on residency training

Other issues addressed by the AMA House of Delegates included:

  • Mental health parity in Medicare.
  • Third-party pharmacy benefit administrators.
  • Virtual residency interviews.
  • Ease of comparing Medicare Advantage plans.
  • Elimination of daylight-saving time.
  • Pulse oximeters and skin pigmentation.