AMA Quits Industry Coalition Fighting Medicare for All

The American Medical Association (AMA) announced Thursday that they will leave an industry group dedicated to fighting Medicare for All and other single-payer proposals.

The AMA, which previously endorsed Obamacare, announced that it will leave the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, which has led the healthcare industry fight against Medicare for All as well as 2020 Democrat presidential candidates’ public option proposals.

Dr. James Madara, the AMA’s CEO, said in a statement Thursday that it still opposes Medicare for All; however, they want to focus on advocating for solutions, such as fixing Obamacare by increasing Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.

Madara said:

The American Medical Association (AMA) firmly believes that the best pathway to expand affordable, high quality health insurance coverage to all Americans is through a mix of private and public health insurance options. We remain opposed to Medicare for All, and policies that reduce patient choice and competition, and are built on flawed financing policies.

The AMA continues to oppose Medicare for All; however, the organization remains divided over the single-payer proposal. Many young doctors tend to support the single-payer solution, while many older practitioners oppose it.

The AMA rejected a resolution in June that would have ended their opposition to Medicare for All with 53 percent against the resolution and 47 percent in favor of the measure.

The AMA continues to back an expansion of Obamacare and will study the effects of a “public option” through which a government health insurance option could compete with private health insurance.

“Practical solutions have been identified and continue to be championed by the AMA,” Madara said Thursday. “The AMA decided to leave the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future so that we can devote more time to advocating for these policies that will address current coverage gaps and dysfunction in our health care system.”

However, despite the AMA’s departure from the Partnership, the industry healthcare group still has many powerful groups, including the American Hospital Association and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

In a statement Thursday, the Partnership said that the AMA still opposes Medicare for All, even though it left the industry group.

“Our diverse and fast-growing coalition strongly agrees with the American Medical Association (AMA) that Medicare for all is the wrong approach for America’s health care and we have appreciated the opportunity to work with them throughout the past year,” the Partnership said.