AMA in the News: December 2025

AMA in the News covers media coverage and mentions about the American Medical Association. Find articles recognizing our efforts in health care, advocacy, medical education and improvements in public health. Read coverage on the achievements of our leadership and the members of the AMA community.

1. Physician telehealth use, by the numbers

   1. Becker’s Hospital Review, Dec. 30, 2025
   2. Physicians at hospital-owned practices are more likely to take advantage of telehealth than their peers in private practice, the American Medical Association found. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

2. Dr. Oz wants AI to decide what procedures people need. N.J. will be a testing ground.

   1. NJ.com, Dec. 29, 2025
   2. In a nationwide survey of 1,000 physicians conducted by the American Medical Association, 24% reported that prior authorization led to an adverse event for a patient. More than nine in 10 reported prior authorization has a negative impact on patient outcomes and delays access to care.

3. Healthcare AI is ‘happening now’: AMA CEO

   1. Becker’s Hospital Review, Dec. 23, 2025
   2. AI “isn’t the future of the practice of medicine. This is happening now,” AMA CEO and Executive Vice President John Whyte, MD, MPH, said at a December event in Chicago, according to a Dec. 19 news release. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

4. Medicare's prior authorization has doctors on edge

   1. Axios, Dec. 23, 2025
   2. The American Medical Association told Axios that some basic information—such as how to actually submit a prior authorization request—is still unclear to providers with just a few days to go before the effective date. (Free registration is required to view content.)

5. Seven health storylines to explain 2025

   1. The Washington Post, Dec. 22, 2025
   2. Nearly two-thirds of doctors surveyed by the American Medical Association reported that they used health AI in their practices in 2024—a 78 percent increase from the year before. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

6. Payers made a bold prior auth commitment in 2025. Here’s what to expect in 2026

   1. MedCity News, Dec. 21, 2025
   2. This is a burden felt by most physicians, as 94% reported in an American Medical Association survey that prior authorization causes major delays in necessary care. There’s an economic reason for reducing prior authorization as well.

7. ACIP vote drives online engagement about Hepatitis B vaccine, and posts claim a VAERS “Cover-Up” of COVID-19 vaccine deaths

   1. KFF, Dec. 18, 2025
   2. Following ACIP’s vote to end the universal hepatitis B birth dose recommendation, major medical organizations including the American Medical Association (AMA) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued statements emphasizing the importance of hepatitis B vaccination for newborns.

8. AMA: A look at concentration in commercial insurance, MA markets

   1. Fierce Healthcare, Dec. 17, 2025
   2. “In the vast majority of metropolitan areas across the country, health insurers hold outsized market share—leaving patients with fewer choices and higher costs,” said AMA CEO and Executive Vice President John J. Whyte, MD, MPH, in a press release. “When one or two companies call the shots, premiums rise, options shrink, and patients suffer. Strengthening competition—not consolidation—is the path to lower costs and improved access.”

9. CDC adopts shared decision-making recommendation for hepatitis B birth dose

   1. Healio, Dec. 17, 2025
   2. In a press release, AMA Trustee Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, said decades of research indicate the HBV birth dose “is essential to protecting all newborns from a serious, chronic infection that can lead to liver disease, cirrhosis, liver cancer and even death.”

10. UnitedHealth, Elevance, Aetna tops in insurance market share: AMA

    1. Modern Healthcare, Dec. 17, 2025
    2. The health insurance market was “highly concentrated” in 97% of metropolitan areas in 2024, up from 95% a decade earlier, the AMA reported Tuesday. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

11. AMA: 97% of U.S. commercial markets highly concentrated in 2024

    1. Tech Target, Dec. 16, 2025
    2. “When one or two companies call the shots, premiums rise, options shrink, and patients suffer," John J. Whyte, MD, MPH, AMA CEO and executive vice president, said in a press release accompanying the study. "Strengthening competition—not consolidation—is the path to lower costs and improved access.” 

12. Why invisible labor prevents burnout

    1. Kevin MD, Dec. 16, 2025
    2. Data from the American Medical Association suggests that one in five physicians plans to leave their current practice within the next two years. The primary drivers? Burnout, stress and workload.

13. Flu facts: why vaccination matters now

    1. Fox News KTVU, Dec. 9, 2025
    2. Toluwalasé A. Ajayi, MD, pediatrician and board chair elect at the American Medical Association, talks importance of the flu shot during winter season.

14. 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare 2025

    1. Modern Healthcare, Dec. 8, 2025
    2. Whyte took the helm of the AMA in July, setting a new strategic direction focused on supporting physicians and advancing physician-led innovation in artificial intelligence. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

15. The other screen time risk we rarely hear about

    1. MedPage Today, Dec. 6, 2025
    2. But the evidence is clear, and alarming. If we don't decrease the volume of kids' screen time—literally and figuratively—the next generation could suffer permanent hearing loss that undermines their ability to learn, connect, and thrive. Bobby Mukkamala, MD, is an otolaryngologist in Flint, Michigan, and president of the American Medical Association. (Free registration is required to view content.)

16. PSAs helped people stop smoking. Could they do the same to prevent gun deaths among children and teens?

    1. The Trace, Dec. 5, 2025
    2. The PSA, which began airing on TV screens in October, is a product of the Ad Council, the nonprofit marketing group; the American Medical Association, the leading organization for U.S. physicians; and a coalition of health care and business leaders.

17. Panel votes to stop recommending Hepatitis B shots at birth for most newborns

    1. New York Times, Dec. 5, 2025
    2. If the CDC and the American Medical Association were to offer conflicting advice, according to a survey released on Monday by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, more than twice as many Americans would trust the medical organization over the nation’s premier public health agency.

18. Norovirus (a.k.a. Winter Vomiting Disease) is surging. Here are 5 symptoms to look out for

    1. Self Magazine, Dec. 4, 2025
    2. The president of the American Medical Association (AMA) Bobby Mukkamala, MD, tells SELF that aiming to stay hydrated is key to speeding that process along and feeling better faster.

19. AMA praises CMS’ tech-supported care model

    1. Becker’s Health IT, Dec. 3, 2025
    2. “ACCESS is an important step toward bringing new, effective digital health tools into everyday care for Medicare patients,” AMA CEO John Whyte, MD, said in a Dec. 3 statement. “For too long, outdated payment barriers have made it difficult for physicians to use new tools that can improve care for common chronic conditions. This new model has the potential to give clinicians more flexibility, strengthen care teams, and—most importantly—help patients live healthier lives. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

20. Bobby Mukkamala, AMA president, cherishes ‘bonus years’ after cancer battle

    1. Chief Healthcare Executive, Dec. 1, 2025
    2. The head of the American Medical Association had surgery last year to remove a brain tumor, and his experience drives him to push for federal research funding.