More AMA Responsibility by Pat Conrad MD

Some of us thought the The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed last year was, to be charitable, bloody awful. And while I never believed that the Party of Dependency would voluntarily prune one of their own creations, the law did apparently include some slight nod toward that very end. According to this story the AMA is now opposing the creation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board which would have the mission of cutting Medicare growth. Sure, I'll bet the AMA thinks they are protecting their dwindling membership from reimbursement cuts. So while the AMA still supports the law's "individual mandate" requirement on the basis of individual responsibility, it will oppose even a minimal government step toward collective responsibility. Figures.