AANEM Attends AMA House of Delegates Meeting

The AMA’s House of Delegates (HOD) convened for its interim meeting in Orlando, Florida in mid-November. The four-day meeting was preceded by 3 weeks of preparatory caucus meetings and online testimony in support of resolutions. The meeting covered a wide range of important, timely topics affecting healthcare across the USA. AANEM was represented by Bill David, MD, PhD (delegate), Ileana Howard, MD (alternate delegate), Dan Pierce, MD (young physician delegate), and Rachel Volbrecht, JD (staff liaison).

In collaboration with the AAPM&R, AANEM co-sponsored a resolution advocating for insurance coverage of physician-prescribed positioning chairs for pediatric patients with NM conditions. These chairs are essential to optimize mobility and prevent complications for children requiring daily sitting support at home. The resolution, which was well-received and passed, directs the AMA to advocate for public and private insurance coverage for physician prescribed positioning chairs in addition to the wheelchair that the patient uses for mobility in the home and community.

As part of the PM&R Section Council, the delegation successfully advocated for an amendment to a resolution addressing inclusivity in clinical trials. The original resolution focused on increased inclusion of people identifying with minoritized and marginalized groups, including sex, gender, race, ethnicity and age. The amendment proposed adding “disability status” to the list of marginalized groups. This addition was approved by the HOD, further ensuring representations of patients with disabilities in clinical research.

The HOD tackled a number of other important and timely health policy issues, including Medicare physician payment, prior authorization, scope of practice, and technology issues, all of which are part of AMA’s “Fix Medicare Now” campaign, discussed further in the AMA Advocacy Impact Report 2024. Other issues of note included drug shortages, streamlining CME reporting across states and specialties, and ensuring meaningful access to health IT. A comprehensive summary of the major topics addressed can be found on the AMA website.

The AMA provided an update on a newly introduced bipartisan bill, the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2024 (H.R. 10073). This legislation seeks to provide temporary relief from scheduled Medicare payment cuts and includes a 12-month 1.8% payment increase, equivalent to half of the Medicare Economic Index (MEI). AANEM has already endorsed this critical bill as a measure to prevent the impending 2.83% Medicare payment cut set to go into effect on January 1, 2025, which threatens patient access to high-quality physician care.

The HOD will reconvene for its annual meeting in June 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.