Continually undermined by the AMA

[aredoubleyou]

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Members don't see this ad.

So I email my represenative multiple times throughout the healthcare overhall debate. I try to educate and inform my colleagues (both within my specialty and of different specialties) of the problems with the senate health care bill. The ASA seems to go back and forth on what one should support/ oppose, but finally grows some marbles and opposes this bill.


So, if I was a represenative listening to doctors express their oppinion of how bad this bill would be for the doctor-patient relationship, etc...how would I balance their indidividual oppinions in relation to the yesterday's AMA position statement here:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/health-system-reform/ama-supports-reform-passage.shtml

Unquestionably, a rep has to feel that the AMA represents doctors interests more broadly than individuals emailing or a specialty organization (ASA).

I am so disgusted with the AMA, and feel as a labor union (which in a form it is) it has betrayed us and our interests so profoundly throughout this process. Are they spineless or do they have a hidden agenda?

 

[Coastie]

LOL, who is this ***** AMA president, and what crack is he smoking?

How does gov't takeover of 1/6th of the economy "increase competition", and help cover more patients?

Somebody check his USMLE scores.

I'll never pay AMA dues again.

So I email my represenative multiple times throughout the healthcare overhall debate. I try to educate and inform my colleagues (both within my specialty and of different specialties) of the problems with the senate health care bill. The ASA seems to go back and forth on what one should support/ oppose, but finally grows some marbles and opposes this bill.


So, if I was a represenative listening to doctors express their oppinion of how bad this bill would be for the doctor-patient relationship, etc...how would I balance their indidividual oppinions in relation to the yesterday's AMA position statement here:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/health-system-reform/ama-supports-reform-passage.shtml

Unquestionably, a rep has to feel that the AMA represents doctors interests more broadly than individuals emailing or a specialty organization (ASA).

I am so disgusted with the AMA, and feel as a labor union (which in a form it is) it has betrayed us and our interests so profoundly throughout this process. Are they spineless or do they have a hidden agenda?

 

[Planktonmd]

The AMA has chosen to represent primary care physicians and their interests exclusively.
It no longer represents us, and I wonder if it ever did.
They don't deserve our membership money and don't speak for us.

 

[IlDestriero]

The AMA has chosen to represent primary care physicians and their interests exclusively.
It no longer represents us, and I wonder if it ever did.
They don't deserve our membership money and don't speak for us.

I sent them a scathing fact based email. It won't do any good, but at least I feel better. They have sold us all down the river. I really wonder if they are aware of all of the little details in the bill that could change the face of medicine in this country forever. I don't think they know anything beyond the congressional talking points. When one of the members of congress notes how it is supported by physicians I want to vomit. I don't think that they ever really represented us at all. I'm glad I'm not a member.
Come with me to Australia in another 5 or so years. Let's make that the destination for world class healthcare. The glory days of medicine in the US are numbered. I thought that the glory days of anesthesia were coming to an end, I didn't realize that the whole ship was about to sink with it.
Even if it goes down, there will be another hastily created AMA backed bill to follow. There's a right way and a wrong way to go about reforming something as profound as healthcare in the US, and the folks in Washington are on the wrong course.

 

[countingdays]

We, medical specialists, should probably have joined the AMA in numbers enough to take it over and turned it in our favor. Maybe we still should. They certainly haven't made any attempt at finding out what doctors really think before they went and started speaking for us. It's disgusting.

 

[kmurp]

LOL, who is this ***** AMA president, and what crack is he smoking?

How does gov't takeover of 1/6th of the economy "increase competition", and help cover more patients?

Somebody check his USMLE scores.

I'll never pay AMA dues again.

The answer is that the goverment isn't taking over 1/6th of the economy. I assume that this number represents all Healthcare expenditures. Our local third party payors will still exist as will merck, j&j, medtronic, Stryker , etc.
Perhaps I'm wrong and you can educate me as to how my hospital and group will be taken over.

 

[Broken Ankles]

LOL, who is this ***** AMA president, and what crack is he smoking?

How does gov't takeover of 1/6th of the economy "increase competition", and help cover more patients?

Somebody check his USMLE scores.

I'll never pay AMA dues again.

This article explains why the AMA supports the health care bill even though about 95% of physicians (sermo users) are opposed to it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr.-daniel-palestrant/what-doctors-actually-end_b_242936.html

Every piece of AMA mail I get is now going directly in the trash.

 

[2ndyear]

For those of you have NOT cancelled your AMA membership yet, do it now and with explanation. There is no doubt some of the undecided voters saw the AMA support and it tipped them for a yes.

 

[countingdays]

This article explains why the AMA supports the health care bill even though about 95% of physicians (sermo users) are opposed to it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr.-daniel-palestrant/what-doctors-actually-end_b_242936.html

Every piece of AMA mail I get is now going directly in the trash.

You can also call them and ask to be taken off their mailing list though it took me 8-10 times before they actually removed me.

 

[orangele]

Stopped paying AMA dues many years ago when it became clear they do not represent me (or my patients).

 

[Sergio99]

We, medical specialists, should probably have joined the AMA in numbers enough to take it over and turned it in our favor. Maybe we still should. They certainly haven't made any attempt at finding out what doctors really think before they went and started speaking for us. It's disgusting.

Hello,

We would never succeed. No matter how many of us join, it is still a small number compared to theirs. Besides, we, as anesthesiologists, don't enjoy much sympathy from other specialists, because they think we make too much money and have an easy life compared to theirs, which is not true in the big picture; it may be true in some practices of the Midwest and the East Coast, where they have CRNAs doing their work on a 2/1 or greater ratio, but it is not so elsewhere.

I had joined initially, when I first came out of residency, and kept my membership for as long as I could get cheap insurance from them, but never felt represented by them. They have their own interests and their own agenda.

Sorry for being so pessimistic.

 

[Consigliere]

Hello,

We would never succeed. No matter how many of us join, it is still a small number compared to theirs. Besides, we, as anesthesiologists, don't enjoy much sympathy from other specialists, because they think we make too much money and have an easy life compared to theirs, which is not true in the big picture; it may be true in some practices of the Midwest and the East Coast, where they have CRNAs doing their work on a 2/1 or greater ratio, but it is not so elsewhere.

I had joined initially, when I first came out of residency, and kept my membership for as long as I could get cheap insurance from them, but I never felt represented by them. They have their own interests and their own agenda.

Sorry for being so pessimistic.

Since when is this easier? I have done cases myself and supervised and I can assure you, doing one's own cases is INFINITELY easier. Get a clue.🙄

 

[countingdays]

Hello,

We would never succeed. No matter how many of us join, it is still a small number compared to theirs. Besides, we, as anesthesiologists, don't enjoy much sympathy from other specialists, because they think we make too much money and have an easy life compared to theirs, which is not true in the big picture; it may be true in some practices of the Midwest and the East Coast, where they have CRNAs doing their work on a 2/1 or greater ratio, but it is not so elsewhere.

I had joined initially, when I first came out of residency, and kept my membership for as long as I could get cheap insurance from them, but never felt represented by them. They have their own interests and their own agenda.

Sorry for being so pessimistic.

I wasn't suggesting that anesthesiologists could join in numbers sufficient to control the AMA. Medical specialists as a group definately could though. The AMA undermines us all, not just anesthesiologists. It would be in the best interests of all surgical specialties and medical subspecialties to join together an overthrow the backstabbing AMA and convert it into a force for good.

 

[Sergio99]

Since when is this easier? I have done cases myself and supervised and I can assure you, doing one's own cases is INFINITELY easier. Get a clue.🙄

Hello,

Yes, Consigliere, I agree with that statement. Maybe I was not clear enough. I was not referring to supervising the CRNAs as easy, but as lucrative, because they can bill for more than one case at a time. I worked with CRNAs for three years when I first graduated from residency, and it wasn't anything but grief (and without the benefit of the extra money because I was on salary).

However, we also have to recognize the existence of different types of personality, some of which don't care about details, as long as they make a profit, and let the CRNAs do whatever they want. I have seen that, too. It also depends on the type of surgeries and patient mix. The more complex your surgeries and sicker the patients, it becomes more and more difficult to supervise.

All that being said, in general terms I agree with your statement and, in my case, I am not comfortable supervising CRNAs and prefer to do my own cases. I have not worked with a CRNA since 1982.