Affordable Coverage for All
We want all patients to have health insurance, with subsidies
(in the form of tax credits or vouchers) for those who can't afford
it.
We want patients to be in the driver's seat rather than
government or employers.
We want families and individuals to be able to choose from a
variety of affordable health insurance options.
We want those choices to be more affordable than they are now,
and insurance market reforms are needed to make that happen.
Patients must retain the ability to choose their own doctor and
be permitted to enter into private contracting arrangements with
their physicians.
Medical decisions should be made by patients and their doctors,
using the best possible information.
No one should be denied health insurance because of pre-existing
conditions.
Ideally, we want patients to own their health insurance even if
it's financed through their employer, so if they leave that job,
the insurance isn't lost, just paid for differently.
Prevention and Personal Responsibility
We want greater investment in prevention and wellness, so that
preventable diseases attributed to obesity and smoking are avoided,
thereby lowering future costs.
We want everyone to take responsibility for their own health,
insurance protection for their family, and choosing a personal
physician.
We want everyone to make and carefully document their wishes
about end of life care - even those who are now young and
healthy.
Quality Improvement
Through the AMA convened Physician Consortium for Performance
Improvement (PCPI), the medical profession will continue and
intensify efforts to develop evidenced-based guidance for quality
improvement.
Providing physicians and patients with real time data for
decision-making at the point of care should be the driving force
for quality improvement.
Delivery Reform
We support efforts to improve care coordination and management
of chronic disease, including the patient-centered home and greater
support for primary care.
Current antitrust policy must be modified to enable small
physician practices to pursue quality improvement, care
coordination and health information technology initiatives to
achieve greater clinical integration in the delivery system.
Reducing Costs
The AMA has pledged to do its part to help reduce the rate of
growth in health care spending. The AMA convened PCPI is developing
measures to reduce unnecessary utilization by focusing on services,
treatments and conditions that entail high variation, high volume,
and high cost, and have the potential for improving quality and
efficiency of care.
We are also working with policymakers and other health
stakeholder organizations to streamline the insurance claims
processing system, reduce time and resources devoted to paperwork
and lower costs for patients, physicians and payers.
Medical liability reforms will reduce costs by reducing the
practice of defensive medicine. We urge policymakers to authorize
health courts, administrative compensation systems, early offer
models, and "safe harbors" for physicians who follow best practice
guidelines, and to adopt other proven medical liability
reforms.
Fiscal Responsibility and Sustainability
Health system reform must be achieved in a fiscally responsible
manner in order to maintain a sustainable health care delivery
system.
-- American Medical Association House of Delegates: June 2009
