AMA House of Delegates
AMA meeting: Efforts renewed for physician antitrust relief
■ AMA delegates said physicians need legislative reforms to create a foundation for fair contract negotiations.
By Damon Adams — Posted Dec. 3, 2007
- INTERIM MEETING 2007
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Honolulu -- Physicians say it's time to make antitrust relief a key issue again.
AMA House of Delegates' members in November voted to have the Association redouble efforts to make antitrust relief a top legislative priority and affirm its commitment to seek state and federal reforms.
"What has happened to physicians in the last 30 years is we have no control of our business," said delegate James T. Hay, MD, a family physician in Del Mar, Calif. "Physicians are really, really frustrated. They want something to happen now."
Delegates said it is essential for physicians to be able to negotiate collectively. They said not bargaining together puts them at a disadvantage when asking health plans for better pricing and payments.
"A single [physician] group can't negotiate with a billion-dollar company," said alternate delegate Mark S. Seigel, MD, an ob-gyn in Bethesda, Md.
At the AMA Interim Meeting, delegates passed a resolution calling for the Association to pursue a federal antitrust law to enable doctors to negotiate effectively with health insurers. AMA Trustee Rebecca J. Patchin, MD, said the Association is seeking a hearing on the issue in Congress.
An AMA report said the organization has tried without success to get federal antitrust legislation passed in the last decade. The AMA also has worked to develop proposed changes to federal guidelines on antitrust enforcement, including adding new rules that address health plan mergers and abuse of market power by dominant health plans, the report said.
