Health Care Reform - the AMA's take

With the recent controversy surrounding the new health care reform bill, I have taken almost an hour of each day reading opinions and viewpoints surrounding changes in the health care system. This following post from the AMA was the simplest and most accurate depiction of what entails a "better" health care system.

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The American Medical Association(AMA) has identified seven critical elements necessary to improve access to affordable, quality care and reduce unnecessary costs in the current system:

* Health insurance coverage for all Americans
* Insurance market reforms that expand choice of affordable coverage and eliminate denials for pre-existing conditions
* Assurance that health care decisions will remain in the hands of patients and their physicians, not insurance companies or government officials
* Investments and incentives for quality improvement, prevention and wellness initiatives
* Repeal of the Medicare physician payment formula that would trigger steep cuts and threaten seniors' access to care
* Implementation of medical liability reforms to reduce the cost of defensive medicine
* Streamlining and standardizing of insurance claims processing requirements to eliminate unnecessary costs and administrative burdens


The challenges in our health care system are many and complex. Enactment of the above policies will create the foundation for a stronger, better performing health care system, improve access to affordable, high-quality care and reduce unnecessary costs. Further, those who are currently insured, including Medicare patients, and those who are uninsured will all benefit from greater security and stability.

The AMA and our individual members are working hard to improve health care delivery and quality through a broad range of initiatives to promote best practices and reduce unnecessary costs.

We reaffirm our commitment to work to adopt and implement health system reforms that will benefit all Americans.
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AMA