Index 2008: AMNews editorials

Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec - 2007 - 2009

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Put the tobacco settlement money in smoking cessation
States need to spend more of their tobacco settlement money on cessation and prevention programs. - Dec. 29

A green approach to public health
A range of new AMA policies underscores the impact of global climate change on health and urge physician action to address it. - Dec. 22

AMA's Strategic Plan: 6 core committments for action
The Association's agenda for the coming year focuses on health care's regulatory environment, clinical excellence, public health, physician practice viability, professionalism and education, and a sustainable AMA. - Dec. 15

The promise of the medical home
The moment is right for the concept of a medical home, and that means it's time to give serious attention to how physicians will be paid for this more comprehensive care. - Dec. 8

Solving the uninsured crisis: Doctors' voices must be heard
The AMA shares one goal with the new administration: expanding health insurance coverage. The Association also is determined to share its experience and plans. - Dec. 1

PQRI's own quality problem
An AMA survey points up key areas that must be addressed if this Medicare reporting program is to be an effective means of improving health care quality. - Nov. 24

A necessary pause on ID theft rules
A six-month extension gives the medical community time to get answers to concerns about government rules on preventing identity theft. - Nov. 17

Parity at last: Mental health, physical health get equal coverage
A new law will end the higher cost-sharing and stricter treatment limits that many health plans impose on mental health coverage. - Nov. 10

Start a healthy conversation
A new AMA program can get physicians and patients talking about diet, exercise, smoking and alcohol use. - Nov. 3

Flu vaccine: Walk the talk, get the shot
With ample vaccine expected, physicians top the list of those who should get immunized. - Oct. 27

Stake your claim for accurate reimbursement
An AMA initiative is designed to provide doctors the tools to appeal inappropriately denied and underpaid insurance claims. - Oct. 20

Lawnwood ruling preserves medical staff role
The Florida Supreme Court decision stopped a hospital corporation from eviscerating medical staff rights. - Oct. 13

Don't rush change to ICD-10 codes
CMS' 2011 deadline for updating to a far more complicated coding system with a new transaction form is unreasonable and unrealistic. - Oct. 6

Tobacco control efforts: The case for persistence
Even with notable gains in the fight against tobacco-related disease, much work lies ahead. - Sept. 22/29

5 years of tort reform: Lone Star success story
Since Texas voters approved a liability cap, specialists have been setting up practices in the state, boosting access to care. - Sept. 15

Take the slow track on RAC program
Congress should order a yearlong moratorium on Medicare's recovery audits, then reconsider whether to continue the redundant and burdensome program. - Sept. 8

More transparency for medical student debt
Policies that make medical school tuition and loan practices clearer and more open can help in the fight to reduce what future physicians owe. - Sept. 1

Vigilance key in fighting foodborne illness
The recent multistate outbreak from Salmonella serves as a reminder of the dangers of hidden pathogens. - Aug. 25

Making medicine more diverse
The AMA has apologized for its history of racial inequality toward black doctors and has vowed to improve relations with minority physicians. - Aug. 18

Victory on Medicare physician pay
The AMA was successful in its campaign to avert the 10.6% Medicare physician payment reduction. - Aug. 11

Setting the standards for medical tourism
The AMA has created guidelines to help protect patients when they go overseas for care and in follow-up treatments back home. - Aug. 4

Taking action toward prevention of elder mistreatment
A report presented at the AMA Annual Meeting has increased focus on this public health problem that older, vulnerable patients sometimes face. - July 28

Rating insurers will help fix inefficient claims system
A new AMA initiative is designed to improve the process and provide doctors with accurate payments. - July 21

Medicare's no-pay conditions: Not always preventable
AMA delegates voice strong objections to a new rule that would deny hospitals payment for certain conditions patients develop in the facility. - July 14

Removing health IT barriers
The AMA advocates that federal legislation to encourage technology use should incorporate physicians' ideas, particularly in regard to technical standards, privacy and financing. - July 7

Childhood obesity: A glimmer of hope, but a long way to go
New estimates on the numbers of overweight and obese children indicate that the epidemic may have stabilized, but significant work still is needed. - June 23/30

Liability shield in times of disaster
The AMA has proposed model state legislation that would provide legal protections for physicians who volunteer during crisis. - June 16

More oversight needed on direct-to-consumer ads
The AMA testified that DTC ads should be subject to government preapproval and, in the case of new products, temporary advertising moratoriums. - June 9

Enforcing the Blues settlement
The AMA, as part of a national BlueCross BlueShield lawsuit settlement, is ready to help physicians hold Blues plans to their word. - June 2

Closing the gap on childhood immunization
In the wake of National Infant Immunization Week, increased emphasis is placed on the need for continued vaccination vigilance. - May 26

Improvements on patient safety rules
With a new law in place, regulations are now needed so doctors can report mistakes voluntarily without fear of prosecution. - May 19

Readying for the senior surge
A new IOM report echoes the AMA's concern that the health care work force is not ready to care for aging baby boomers. - May 12

Ohio lifts the veil on insurer contracts
The state's new, sweeping law on health plan contracts sends a message that "take it or leave it" approaches by health insurers are not acceptable in physician negotiations. - May 5

House call on Congress
Physician activism and involvement through the AMA National Advocacy Conference amplify key messages -- for now and for medicine's future. - April 28

Legal muscle in the doctor's corner
The Litigation Center of the AMA and State Medical Societies is the medical profession's wide-ranging advocate in the courts. - April 21

Breathing room on Medicare payment
The American Medical Association backs a bill to replace scheduled physician payment cuts with increases. - April 14

Keeping an eye on United
Nevada's formation of a physician advisory council in the wake of a health plan merger gives doctors a chance to scrutinize UnitedHealth Group's conduct. - April 7

Question for patients: What's in your medicine chest?
Prescription drug abuse is a serious public health threat. Urging patients to take steps to protect their medicines is an important way to control it. - March 24/31

Making the case for caps in tort reform
An AMA review of independent research provides a detailed look at the effects of liability award caps. - March 17

Cuomo's reasonable investigation into health plan pricing
New York takes on United over an allegedly rigged system for pricing services by out-of-network physicians. - March 10

Growing pains for UnitedHealth Group
California regulators say plenty went wrong after a United mega-merger was given the go-ahead. - March 3

Matters of the heart
Even though it is the No. 1 killer in the United States, heart disease continues to be a subject surrounded by misconceptions. - Feb. 25

Path to better relations between medical staffs and hospitals
AMA principles can help prevent further deterioration between hospital governing bodies and their physician staffs. - Feb. 18

AMA campaigns for the uninsured
The AMA Voice for the Uninsured initiative has gone nationwide in its effort to encourage political candidates and voters to focus on the issue. - Feb. 11

Stronger action needed against tobacco
Despite progress in some areas, government oversight of smoking is slipping. FDA regulation of tobacco, and more funding of prevention programs, is necessary to ensure that the use of cigarettes is extinguished. - Feb. 4

The health literacy deficit
New Senate legislation would provide much-needed tools to address this continuing health problem. - Jan. 28

Looking beyond the Medicare pay patch
A reprieve provides a small window to stave off an enormous Medicare pay cut for doctors. - Jan. 21

Time to pinch off the salt
The AMA calls on the FDA to revoke salt's "generally recognized as safe" status to allow more regulation of sodium in food. - Jan. 14

Spreading the risk
Risk-based subsidies are the answer to the question of how to make sure that high-risk patients are included in any health insurance reform. - Jan. 7

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