Registration open: 2026 AMA State Advocacy Summit
Registration for the 2026 AMA State Advocacy Summit is officially open, and you are invited to register to join us on Jan. 8-10 at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to join hundreds of physician leaders and medical society staff and:
Hear from national experts on the critical issues impacting medicine at the state level
Strategize with advocacy leaders on their organizations’ state legislative and regulatory priorities
Network with other physician leaders and colleagues from across the country
The 2026 Summit’s content will focus on high-priority state health care issues, such as implementing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, protecting Medicaid, combatting harmful payer practices, preserving physician-led team-based care, prioritizing physician wellness—and more.
Stay tuned for the full agenda—and view the draft meeting schedule (PDF) to help plan your travels.
The 2025 Summit held earlier this year sold out. Make sure to reserve your spot by registering now and booking your hotel room.
Wisconsin scope expansion bill would increase patient confusion, could lead to worse patient outcomes
In a letter (PDF) to the chair of the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Health, the AMA expressed strong opposition to Senate Bill 435 (SB 435), legislation that would allow physician assistants to practice without any physician involvement and would replace the term “physician assistant” with “physician associate” throughout Wisconsin statutes. In the letter, AMA CEO and EVP John Whyte, MD, MPH, stated that this bill would set “Wisconsin apart from most of the country, including the 45 states that currently require physician supervision or collaboration of physician assistants.” He also noted that the “overwhelming trend by state legislatures across the country has been to defeat legislation like SB 435” with more than a dozen states rejecting similar proposals this year.
The letter further emphasized that this proposal is not a solution to increasing access to primary care. National data show that in 2024, only 22% of physician assistants practiced in primary care nationwide, and just 19.6% practiced in primary care in Wisconsin.
In addition, Dr. Whyte highlighted that SB 435 could increase overall health care costs, citing several studies showing that when physician assistants practice without physician involvement, costs rise due to overprescribing, increased utilization of diagnostic imaging and other services, and result in worse patient outcomes. Finally, Dr. Whyte urged the committee to oppose the title change provision in SB 435, stating “this title change is wholly unnecessary…it replaces a term that has been common in the health care lexicon for decades with a term that is incompatible with the existing health care infrastructure and will increase patient confusion.”
