In holding up four fingers, Bobby Mukkamala, MD, shared with the AMA House of Delegates the number of days remaining in his term as the highest elected official in organized medicine. These final days, like the 361 that preceded them, are precious to the outgoing AMA president, Dr. Mukkamala told delegates at the 2026 AMA Annual Meeting’s opening session tonight.
“I have been counting because this role is a privilege,” said Dr. Mukkamala, an otolaryngologist from Flint, Michigan. “And because I wanted to make the most of every single day with this platform.”
A year ago, when Dr. Mukkamala’s tenure as the Association’s 180th president began, he assumed the position at a time of unprecedented tumult. Uncertainty loomed over both his health and the direction his profession would take amid the rapidly evolving healthcare system.
In November 2025, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam revealed an 8-cm temporal lobe tumor on the left side of Dr. Mukkamala’s brain. Three weeks after the startling discovery, the 53-year-old father of two underwent surgery.
The removal of 90% of the tumor was a best-case scenario for Dr. Mukkamala. To avoid radiation and chemotherapy, he is taking an isocitrate dehydrogenase inhibitor, a treatment method that was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration, in hopes that it will prevent the remaining portions of the tumor from growing. He has undergone laboratory tests and MRI scans that have shown no growth to date and his physicians indicated he could enjoy up to 20 years of survival.
That experience, and the perspective he gained as a patient, give him a new outlook. He vowed to lead the AMA and live his life with even greater resolve.
“I have been deeply grateful for the AMA and the sense of purpose I have found in our work,” he said.
“The purpose to speak speaking honestly about what is broken in healthcare, from the perspective of both physician and patient. The purpose to stand up for science, public health, and truth when they are challenged. The purpose to tell our story because the work of the AMA and organized medicine matters deeply for our patients.” (Read Dr. Mukkamala’s speech.)
Advocating for patients
A lifelong resident of Flint, Dr. Mukkamala has spent decades treating patients in a city that has weathered economic collapse and public health disasters. His role in organized medicine gives him a seat at the table and a voice in the policy making process. When those policies take effect, he sees the results, and they aren’t always encouraging.
Dr. Mukkamala pointed to cuts to Medicaid, passed as law during the summer of 2025 despite vocal opposition from the AMA, as the type of misguided legislation that weakens care for some of the nation’s most vulnerable patients.
“When policymakers weaken programs that people rely on for care, the consequences are felt first and most deeply in communities that are already struggling to overcome barriers to health and opportunity,” he said.
“In cities like my hometown of Flint and across this country, access to care isn’t theoretical. It’s everything. And we must protect it at all costs. That is our duty as doctors … as leaders.”
Even in a time of deep political divisions, Dr. Mukkamala notes that progress is possible. He cited recent AMA wins as evidence that physician-led advocacy can produce meaningful change. Key policy changes that were driven by the Association include the passage of a bipartisan funding act this spring that protects access to telehealth, increasing emphasis on diabetes prevention and addressing physician well-being. Dr. Mukkamala also highlighted the recent introduction of legislation, supported by both parties, to address health plans failing to comply with the No Surprises Act’s payment requirements.
“These victories did not happen overnight. They are the result of our hard work, our sustained advocacy and strong physician engagement over many years,” Dr. Mukkamala said. “Progress is seldom quick or easy. But the lesson is clear: When the AMA shows up and physicians lead, medicine moves forward. For the betterment of patients and the profession.”
Treating the whole patient
Weeks after his brain tumor was diagnosed, Dr. Mukkamala took the board exams and earned his certification in lifestyle medicine. Now, when he sees patients he asks questions such as: What type of exercise do you enjoy? And: How much sleep are you getting?
Dr. Mukkamala championed the AMA’s renewed emphasis on the importance of lifestyle that emphasizes whole body health through education, advocacy, physician engagement and evidence-based strategies to help patients make meaningful changes to their lives.
“Our purpose, as physicians, is to leave things better than we found it,” Dr. Mukkamala said. “That means helping build a system that values prevention as much as treatment—and ensuring physicians have the tools, the training, and the support to make that vision a reality.”
To effect change on a broader level, Dr. Mukkamala touted the importance of organized medicine and AMA membership. Even as Association membership figures are at their highest levels in decades, now eclipsing 320,000 members, its continued growth increases the potency of the AMA’s message and amplifies the voice of physicians in conversations that will shape the future of healthcare.
“Apathy is not OK,” he said. “The challenges we face are too important for us to sit on the sidelines. If we want a stronger voice for physicians, we need more physicians at the table.”
Physicians’ purpose
Dr. Mukkamala expressed gratitude for his time leading the AMA, saying that the intersection of his path as president and his road to recovery were instrumental in the healing process.
“Each assignment. Each speech. Each opportunity to learn and contribute and push myself a little further became part of my healing process,“ he said. “The work that you asked me to do as president gave me purpose. And that purpose helped me recover.”
Physicians, likewise, must approach their efforts to create a system that puts patients first and sustains the profession with purpose.
“At a time when so much in this country feels divided, the AMA continues to demonstrate something important: physicians can still come together,” Dr. Mukkamala said. We can debate. We can listen. We can work hard to find common ground. And we can move forward, united. That is the strength of this House. This is our purpose.”
Read about the other highlights from the 2026 AMA Annual Meeting.
