AMA ad campaign pushes patient protection bill
Washington -- The AMA launched a newspaper ad campaign on May 2 to urge eight Republican senators to support patient protection legislation favored by the Association. The advertisements appeared as congressional negotiators continue in their attempts to craft a compromise between very different House and Senate patient protection bills.
"The conference committee is making decisions this month that will affect the health of our patients for years to come," said Timothy T. Flaherty, MD, vice chair of AMA's Board of Trustees. "We are urging senators to do the right thing -- to pass a bill that puts patients first, not health plans."
Personalized versions of the ads were run in newspapers in each senator's home state asking support for legislation that protects all 168 million Americans covered by managed care plans; holds health plans accountable when they make decisions that harm patients; provides patients an independent, timely appeal if care is denied or delayed; allows physicians, not insurance companies, to make medical decisions; and gives patients a choice for their treating physicians, including specialists.
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