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WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, issued the following statement today on the American Medical Association’s (AMA) announcements regarding LGBT rights. AMA members voted to join the effort to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and declared that bans on same-sex marriage result in health disparities for LGBT couples and families.

As the suicidal Democratic congressmen proceed to rubber-stamp the Obama healthcare reform despite the drubbing their party took in the ’09 elections, the president trotted out the endorsements of the AMA and the AARP to stimulate support. But these — and the other endorsements — his package has received are all bought and paid for. Here are the deals: · The American Medical Association (AMA) was facing a 21 percent cut in physicians’ reimbursements under the current law. Obama promised to kill the cut if they backed his bill. The cuts are the fruit of a law requiring annual 5-6...

The American Medical Association House of Delegates drew up a resolution last night which would withdraw their support of the House health care bill. Members are likely to vote on whether or not to withdraw their support of the bill earlier in the week. This action is a result of members within the organization who revolted, when the AMA initially gave the the healthcare legislation its endorsement. President Obama touted the endorsement of the AMA and AARP on Thursday at the White House.

Some AMA members are outraged that the group's trustees made the endorsement without the formal approval of the organization's House of Delegates. The American Medical Association's much-touted endorsement of the House health care reform bill has triggered a revolt among some members who want the endorsement withdrawn. Some members are outraged that the group's trustees made the endorsement without the formal approval of the organization's House of Delegates. On Monday, delegates will vote on a resolution offered by some members that, if approved, will withdraw the AMA’s endorsement of the bill. President Obama cited the endorsement of the influential AMA,...

The American Medical Association's much-touted endorsement of the House health care reform bill has triggered a revolt among some members who want the endorsement withdrawn. Some members are outraged that the group's trustees made the endorsement without the formal approval of the organization's House of Delegates. On Monday, delegates will vote on a resolution offered by some members that, if approved, will withdraw the AMA’s endorsement of the bill. President Obama cited the endorsement of the influential AMA, along with AARP's, in a surprise appearance Thursday in the White House briefing room as he attempted to beat back criticism that...

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/hsr-ama-pelosi-letter.pdf

DoctorFinder for Patients The information contained in the AMA DoctorFinder report does NOT meet the primary source equivalency requirement as set forth in the credentialing standards of accreditation organizations such as the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) or the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).Nidal Malik Hasan , MD (Non-Member) Primary Specialty (Self Designated)(note): PSYCHIATRY Location: Killeen, TX 76541

It came as no surprise to learn this morning that the American Medical Association announced its support for concurrent passage of two health care reform bills in the U.S. House of Representatives. Sadly, the once-respected organization of physicians now joins the ranks of the misguided AARP (See “Despite Early Denials, AARP Endorsing ObamaCare”).

President Obama has assured his bobble heads that health care reform won't add anything to the deficit. It's difficult to figure out how a bill that costs somewhere just south of a trillion dollars is going to be deficit neutral. But bureaucrats have a mathematical principle available to them that we regular folk aren't allowed to use. It's called calling it something else. President Obama has made serial promises that he will not sign a health-care bill that "adds one dime to our deficits, either now or in the future, period." This was never plausible, but now we can begin...

Details emerge of the scam job meeting on the White House lawn. Michelle Malkin tells Sean Hannity the greasy tactics of the Obama White House.

Politics: The administration stages a photo-op with handpicked doctors who support its health care reform. Fortunately, most doctors still believe that the first rule of medicine is to do no harm. It would seem some doctors still make house calls. Some 150 of them made one at the White House Monday in an attempt to give a booster shot to the administration's chaotic and stalled health care reform drive. Rather than a grass-roots uprising of physicians, this was a classic case of AstroTurfing. Attendance was by invitation only, and 40 of the 150 were said to be members of Doctors...

Not only did the four doctors who flanked President Obama at his White House press event on Monday recommend his plan; three out of four of them donated to his presidential campaign. It could be an ad slogan to put the toothpaste marketers who like to brag that nine out of ten doctors recommend their brand to shame. The four doctors who stood and clapped along with Mr. Obama’s plans were Dr. Mona Mangat of St. Petersburg, Florida, Dr. Hershey Garner of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Dr. Richard A. Evans of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, and Dr. Amanda McKinney of Beatrice, Nebraska. Campaign finance...

Is President Obama trying to score brownie points with the majority doctors out there? Ya just never know with the young president. One day you’re his enemy, the next day, your best friend. We’ve seen it all before. Today the president gathered doctors representing the AMA (and a variety of the medical organizations) to show how MDs support his health care plan. The lab coats are a nice touch, cause otherwise we would have to take his word for it that they are actually doctors. All style no substance.

What appears to be the official blog of President Obama’s administration is all aflutter because the President will welcome, “doctors from across the United States to the White House to share their unique perspective on the struggles that American families face every day when it comes to health care.” (They posted today’s agenda in the name of transparency!) -snip- Of the eight insurers listed, Medicare is most likely to reject a claim, sending away 6.85% of requests. This is more than any private insurer and double that of the private insurers’ average!

U.S. President Barack Obama waves to doctors in attendance from across the country after making remarks on the need for health insurance reform in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, October 5, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES POLITICS HEALTH BUSINESS)

The cavalry is here -- and they're in white coats and scrubs: More than a half a million doctors and millions of nurses are joining forces to help pass real health reform. Americans listen to their nurses and doctors when it comes to health reform -- and for good reason. If we can help them amplify their voices, it'll be a huge boost to our campaign for change. So we're working on a new television ad featuring their voices explaining why doctors and nurses so strongly support President Obama's plan -- and asking Congress to pass it. We'll run the...

Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted... The poll contradicts the claims of not only the White House, but also doctors' own lobby — the powerful American Medical Association — both of which suggest the medical profession is behind the proposed overhaul. It also calls into question whether an overhaul is even doable; 72% of the doctors polled disagree with the administration's claim that the government can cover 47 million more people with better-quality...

One of the criticisms of Obamacare is how will doctors be able to handle the extra patients if all of a sudden all the uninsured become part of their case load. If he new study of doctors performed by IBD is to be believed, the problem will be worse than originally thought, as 45% of all doctors will consider leaving the profession if Obamacare is passed in its present form (take that American Medical Association). More than 800,000 doctors were practicing in 2006, the government says. Projecting the poll's finding onto that population, 360,000 doctors would consider quitting. YIKES, forget...

Today, we are constantly being told, the United States faces a health care crisis. Medical costs are too high, and health insurance is out of reach of the poor. The cause of this crisis is never made very clear, but the cure is obvious to nearly everybody: government must step in to solve the problem. Eighty years ago, Americans were also told that their nation was facing a health care crisis. Then, however, the complaint was that medical costs were too low, and that health insurance was too accessible. But in that era, too, government stepped forward to solve the...

In his war against terrorism, President George W. Bush declared a simple, binary formula to judge the world: "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." Now, Obama and the Democratic leadership have borrowed the same formula to draw the battle lines over health care reform, dividing the country into those who are for ObamaCare and those who are evil-mongers. But the entities that will be most injurious to the nation's health are not so much in the evil-mongers' group but the first group, including the American Medical Association—a doctors' cartel that has controlled the medical labor...

This is a report on one of the great sell-outs in American history: How the insurance companies, the drug companies (PhRMA), the AARP, and the AMA have all sold-out their principles to get a piece of the profit of Obamacare for themselves. Instead of standing on their principles, and taking a position on whether Obamacare would be good for America, they are rushing in to make a deal to protect their own interests. This is not just my interpretation of what is going on, but is being documented by national publications and pundits. For example, Business Week (August 17, 2009)...

One interesting part of the Obamacare debate is the number of individuals and organizations publicly endorsing the President's plan against the will (and the best interests) of their constituency. Just one look at the Town Hall meetings, where members of the House and Senate are facing voters frustrated and angry, and very vocally expressing their anger at their representatives for not listening to their objections concerning the Obamacare bills. AARP has also faced the wrath of its members wanting to know how a senior advocacy organization could support a plan which is potentially so dangerous for their membership. Last night...

By embracing ObamaCare, the American Medical Association could set off a civil war among members. James Klemis, an interventional cardiologist who practices in Memphis, was at a lake house on a Saturday earlier this month when he got a text message from a friend about a health care town meeting that evening. He jumped in his car and drove 45 minutes to an inner-city auditorium. There he met up with 15 of his doctor colleagues, who all showed up to give their congressman, Steve Cohen, an earful. "It's a very poorly crafted plan that's being rushed through," Klemis says, who...

Just now on FOX the doctor who's in a tussle with Rep. Scott from GA-13 said at a townhall meeting, where they were on the stage together, that only 29% of doctors in the US are represented by the AMA.

Obama in his Town Hall cited doctor's opting to amputate diabetics rather than counsel weight lose and diet because they pay very little for counseling whereas amputation pays $30,000-$40,000. AMA has issued a statement saying Medicare pays $541-$708. American College of Surgeons echoed the AMA numbers. Charles Krauthammer pointed out that people are losing confidence in the health care proposals when Obama is wrong by a factor of thirty.

A new coalition on Thursday is launching $12 million in television ads to support President Barack Obama’s health-reform plan, in the opening wave of a planned tens of millions of dollars this fall. The new group, funded largely by the pharmaceutical industry, is called Americans for Stable Quality Care. It includes some odd bedfellows: the American Medical Association, FamiliesUSA, the Federation of American Hospitals, PhRMA and SEIU, the service employees’ union. The ads start airing at about 11 a.m. ET Thursday. The group is likely to be the biggest spender in support of health reform. The campaign will serve as...

A follow-up to last night’s post about the looming dangers of mass amputation if ObamaCare doesn’t pass. This is now the second time in three weeks that a doctors’ association has had to correct him publicly over a bit of cheap demagoguery aimed at scaring people into swallowing his plan. Or, rather, the third time: The American College of Surgeons released a statement of its own earlier this evening hammering him on the same points as the AMA. What’s next for The One? Accusing nurses of stealing money out of patients’ wallets while they’re asleep? We agree with President Obama...

SHOCK UNCOVERED: Obama IN HIS OWN WORDS admitting his Health Care Plan will ELIMINATE private insurance OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS HEATH CARE GOAL IS A PUBLIC OPTION THAT WILL ULTIMATELY ELIMINATE PRIVATE EMPLOYER PROVIDED INSURANCE (Obama S.E.I.U. forum on health care 3/24/07, Barney Frank, Jan Schakowsky all admitting a public option will put the private insurance industry out of business)

The American Medical Association has weighed in on the new Obama Health Reform Proposals: The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves. The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve. The Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception. Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted. The Pathologists yelled, "Over my dead body!" while the Pediatricians said, "Oh, Grow up!" The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it. Surgeons decided to wash...

Rationing: In the recesses of the House health care "reform" bill is a provision for end-of-life counseling for seniors. Don't worry, granny, they're from the government and they're here to help.At a town hall meeting at AARP headquarters in Washington, D.C., President Obama was asked by a woman from North Carolina if it was true "that everyone that's Medicare age will be visited and told they have to decide how they wish to die." At first, the president joked that not enough government workers existed to ask the elderly how they wanted to die. The idea, he said, was to...

Unfortunately I can't find a video of more than the preview; however, I caught a short piece of this panel when the President of the AMA, J. James Rohack stated that one of the only areas of medicine not covered by insurance, Cosmetic Surgery (Plastic Surgery, LASKI, etc.), is one of the only areas where quality/tech are up and costs are down.

Georgia’s many doctors, through their professional organization, the Medical Association of Georgia, have gone on record opposing the horrendous health care “reform” legislation now before the House of Representatives, which is being pushed heavily by President Obama. The MAG is opposing this legislation because it would, if implemented, destroy medicine as we know it in America. Georgia’s doctors understand that, with all its flaws, our health care is of the highest quality and is the most technologically advanced of any country in the world; which is why far more people come to the United States for medical care than leave...

Today I learned that the AMA has issued an “unqualified endorsement” of the House Bill for health insurance overhaul. In my opinion, the AMA has sold out doctors, and most importantly, our patients, in supporting this government take over of our most private and personal freedom – our choices about when, where, and with whom we will have medical care when we are sick. As a protest against their support of the House Health”care” Bill, I have resigned from the AMA after nearly thirty years of membership. Health “care” is a misnomer these days. It is more aptly called health...

The former president of the American Medical Association, Dr. Donald Palmisano, a surgeon, warned that if the Obama administration did not slow down on its drive for a government-led health care overhaul, the treatment choices available to patients would be undercut. He added that the president’s “public option” plan in particular would be a disaster for patients and medical innovation. “When it comes to health system reform: slow down. Patients’ lives are at risk,” Palmisano told reporters at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. “Today, in America, we have the best health care system in the world...

TDC asks - Who bought who out? During the recent “PRESCRIPTION FOR AMERICA” Town Hall meeting, American Medical Association President J. James Rohack, asked the following question to Obama: “How are you going to assure the American public that medical decisions will still be between the patient and the physician, and not some bureaucracy that will make decisions on cost and not really what the patient needs?” What exactly was Obama suggesting when he said, “If we’ve got experts who are looking at this and they are advising doctors across the board?” EXPERTS ADVISING DOCTORS? It sounds like these Obama...

During the recent “PRESCRIPTION FOR AMERICA” Town Hall meeting, American Medical Association President J. James Rohack, asked the following question to Obama: “How are you going to assure the American public that medical decisions will still be between the patient and the physician, and not some bureaucracy that will make decisions on cost and not really what the patient needs?” Obama did not answer this question directly, however, when Obama responded to a question about end-of-life care a little later he said: “Well, and that’s a good example of where if we’ve got experts who are looking at this and...

Washingtonosis(n): a disease most often found in people working within three miles of the U.S. Capitol building...Symptoms include an overwhelming desire to associate and be seen with those in power or those perceived to have power and/or fame. Those infected tend to lose judgment, values, principles and sense of honesty as well as common sense. Last week, officials of the American Medical Association (AMA) revealed that they had caught the disease. They endorsed the House version of the health care bill even though it would reduce the incomes of many of their members, restrict their freedom to practice medicine as...

In scanning for a toll free way to call my congress critter, I accidentally found a sweet way to do it: use the AMA's own dime and your zip code to directly call your congress critter. Simply call (800) 833-6354. This is the AMA's own automated grass roots hot line system. It will ask for your zip code, and then via a menu it will automatically directly dial your representative's or senator's office so you can protest the health care bill. Happy dialing --early and often-- on the AMA's own dime!!!

President Obama’s plan for a government takeover of health care is in trouble. Obama ordered up a prime-time last push on Wednesday from his media accomplices, and today will be a big day for them to be ganging up on opponents. Mostly, the targets are Democrats in the House and Senate who are rejecting his so-called public option. Obama has invited a number of wavering Dems to the White House today, planning on arm-twisting sessions aimed at getting their support for the gargantuan -- and unread -- plan to take over the health care of all Americans and add another...

The AMA and new President James Rohack sold out its members and its patients with their recent support for ObamaCare. Today the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons called them on it. Boy are they ticked, and who can blame them. This was a bargaining ploy all along.

AMA endorses House healthcare bill House Democrats got some good news on health reform in the form of a key endorsement from an influential interest group: the American Medical Association (AMA). The AMA endorsed the measure in a letter to Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) on Thursday. “On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association, I am writing to express our appreciation and support” for the House bill, wrote Michael Maves, the AMA’s executive vice president and CEO. “We urge members of the House Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The influential American Medical Association on Thursday said it supported the healthcare overhaul legislation moving through committees in the Democratic-led House of Representatives and urged its approval. "This legislation includes a broad range of provisions that are key to effective, comprehensive health system reform," AMA executive vice president Michael Maves wrote to the House committee leaders. In particular, he said, the doctors' group backs the insurance market reforms that seek to expand healthcare coverage and the proposed health insurance exchange. In this exchange consumers would choose between private insurers and a public plan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The influential American Medical Association on Thursday said it supported the healthcare overhaul legislation moving through committees in the Democratic-led House of Representatives and urged its approval. "This legislation includes a broad range of provisions that are key to effective, comprehensive health system reform," AMA executive vice president Michael Maves wrote to the House committee leaders. In particular, he said, the doctors' group backs the insurance market reforms that seek to expand healthcare coverage and the proposed health insurance exchange. In this exchange consumers would choose between private insurers and a public plan. He also cited the...

The American Medical Association, which vigorously opposed Bill and Hillary Clinton's 1990s reform effort, today pledged to work with congressional leaders to ensure legislation is soon passed. The group endorsed the strongest legislation currently on the table, proposed this week by top Democrats in the House of Representatives. The group long opposed government intervention in the healthcare system for fear that its physician members would see their lucrative pay decline. The medical association's surprise turnaround may be an indication they see reform as inevitable and hope to influence the legislation at the margins. In its letter to Charles Rangel, a...

Regina Benjamin, the youngest doctor and first black woman admitted to the American Medical Association, is President Obama's pick to be surgeon general. ------ snip ------

The new president of the American Medical Association, which represents the interests of the nation's doctors, said Wednesday the group is open to a government-funded health insurance option for people without coverage. Dr. J. James Rohack told CNN the AMA supports an "American model" that includes both "a private system and a public system, working together." In May, the AMA told a Senate committee it did not support a government-sponsored public health insurance option. "The AMA does not believe that creating a public health insurance option ... is the best way to expand health insurance coverage and lower costs across...

In his speech last week to the American Medical Association, President Obama told members that critics had unfairly painted his proposal for a government health insurance plan as "a Trojan horse" for socialized medicine."When you hear the naysayers claim that I'm trying to bring about government-run health care," he said, "know this — they are not telling the truth." Mr. Obama's personal goals are beside the point. The problem is that a giant public insurance plan — a public plan option that would be the core of his health reform and included in the Democratic House bill — will be...

The administration was successful in co-opting the AMA last week. Now they've joined with the SEIU, AARP, and others to push univeral healthcare. Go to the site to see their ad running now across the country. They are developing a theme that universal healthcare is middle of "the road" - that it's between "government takeover" vs "do nothing." Of course, it's actually ALL about a government takeover. The masses will fall for it.

CHICAGO – The nation's largest group of doctors began their annual meeting as a potential obstacle to President Obama's health care overhaul. After a big pep talk from Obama himself, they ended it Wednesday by signaling they won't close the door on one of his key proposals, a public health insurance plan to compete with private insurers. While the Obama administration would have preferred a strong endorsement, the vote by American Medical Association doctors is a victory of sorts for the White House and the group will continue to be a player in the health care reform efforts. "They're going...

Health Care: President Obama talked a lot about cutting medical costs during his 7,300-word speech to doctors Monday. But he rejected the only item he brought up that would actually cut medical costs.Though he acknowledged that part of the high cost of health care is due to defensive medicine — doctors ordering more tests and treatments than necessary in an effort to avoid being sued — he told the American Medical Association that he is "not advocating caps on malpractice awards." "I personally believe (they) can be unfair to people who've been wrongfully harmed," he said. Obama, who took some...