NEWS
AMA Delegate Report
Joseph B . Selby , MD Delegate and Chair
The interim 2023 American Medical Association ( AMA ) meeting was held November 10-14 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center on the Potomac River just south of Washington , D . C ., in Oxon Hill , Maryland . The purpose of the interim meeting is advocacy . The resolutions submitted for consideration needed to meet pre-established criteria .
Prior to the November interim meeting , reference committees met virtually using an online forum . This allowed for the crafting of resolutions with input from the state and specialty society delegations as well as the sponsor of the resolution . In this way , a great deal of work was accomplished in crafting and wordsmithing resolutions prior to their introduction to the House of Delegates .
At the meeting , once the reference committees held their deliberations and submitted their recommendations to the House of Delegates , extractions of items could be made . Items not extracted were accepted as a consent calendar to become AMA policy . There were two committees for which there were no extractions : Reference Committee F , government and finance , and Reference Committee C , medical education . Extractions from the remainder of the reference committee reports totaled 38 items from about 115 items total . Each one of the 38 items extracted was discussed , accepted , amended , and / or referred by the House of Delegates by electronic vote .
West Virginia has two votes on the floor of the House of Delegates , and two votes were cast on every one of the resolutions and reports brought forward .
I would like our members to be aware that the Medical Society of Virginia ( MSV ) offered an open invitation to the West Virginia delegation to attend its caucuses during the meetings as resolutions moved through the reference committee process . The West Virginia delegation does not have the capacity to attend the deliberations of all the reference committees , as we are a small delegation and deliberations run concurrently . By attending the Virginia delegation caucus , our two delegates were well informed on the issues of each of the reference committees . This allowed us to make a more informed vote .
The MSV has extended this invitation for the 2024 meetings , and I would like to offer my sincerest appreciation and thanks to the MSV delegation and staff . Virginia has a large delegation and an active student section , and it was a delight to be a part of their discussions .
Coming up in June of 2024 , Dr . Bruce Scott will be installed as president of the AMA . Dr . Lisa Egbert will move up to Speaker of the House , and Dr . John Armstrong will be the Vice Speaker of the House of Delegates .
The role of the AMA in advocacy is to actively support ideas and policies that support the art and science of medicine and improve the health of the patients we serve . To accomplish this task , let me summarize the AMA ' s five-part recovery plan points before I comment on additional efforts on key healthcare issues .
THE RECOVERY PLAN
1 . Reform Medicare payment ; continued cuts are unsustainable .
2 . Fix prior authorization .
3 . Promote physician-led care .
4 . Reduce physician burnout .
5 . Support telehealth .
Important policy created at this meeting is summarized below . It is in no way all-inclusive but contains items I deemed of special interest .
• Improvement in our public health system .
• Prevention of firearms injury and death .
• Opposition to government intervention in the practice of medicine .
• Preserving access to care .
• Reducing overdose deaths and improving care for patients with pain .
• Pursuing solutions to the physician workforce crisis .
• Supporting and continuing to work with state physician health programs to help ensure physicians seeking care have protections to support treatment and safe return to practice .
• Medicaid and CHIP access and affordability .
10 • www . wvsma . org