A:<\/strong> There\u2019s so many times where our healthcare system just does not accommodate people who aren\u2019t in the majority. As a gay parent and a gay dad, I can\u2019t tell you how many forms I filled out where there\u2019s a place for the mom and a place for the dad. It\u2019s a small thing. But it\u2019s a signal that we\u2019re different and maybe we\u2019re not welcome or accepted.<\/p>\nWhen you have those small, subtle irritations that add up day after day after day, whether you\u2019re an LGBT person or from a minority group, that causes stress. These friction points \u2026 are so pronounced for so many who are in underserved communities, so many in the LGBT community, and particularly for transgender individuals. And I know we can do better.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been fortunate to have two beautiful boys brought into this world with the support of an incredible group of physicians. But there were definitely lots of moments along the way where it was clear that we were a little bit different than everybody else in a way that didn\u2019t need to be.<\/p>\n
Q: This seems like an unprecedented time for political interference in medicine.<\/strong><\/p>\nA:<\/strong> I\u2019m deeply concerned about government intrusion into decision-making for patients. The Supreme Court ruling around abortion has had profound implications for reproductive rights. And fundamentally, patients have a right to access evidence-based healthcare services. That includes comprehensive reproductive healthcare. It includes care for transgender people.<\/p>\nStates that ban abortion, that ban healthcare for transgender youth are placing the government right into the patient-physician relationship. And we know that this leads to devastating health consequences and can jeopardize lives. The AMA continues to speak out against these kinds of actions.<\/p>\n
Q:<\/strong> What power does the AMA really have to protect those rights?<\/strong><\/p>\nA:<\/strong> I don\u2019t think we\u2019re powerless at all. The AMA was deeply involved in helping the Biden Administration put out guidance to help physicians and patients understand that you don\u2019t have to disclose private medical information to third parties. And we\u2019ll continue to call for things like unrestricted access to (the abortion drug) mifepristone.<\/p>\nQ:<\/strong> Are you discouraged by the number of states that seem to be jumping on this bandwagon?<\/strong><\/p>\nA:<\/strong> I\u2019m an optimist. There are particular political divisions that are different right now. The attack on science, the attack on following the evidence to deliver care is new. Globally, it has accelerated during the pandemic, but the rampant misinformation, disinformation \u2014 all of those challenges are things I know we can overcome. It requires the AMA to lift up our voices and to not give up.<\/p>\nQ:<\/strong> Will addressing the nation\u2019s mental health crisis be part of your role?<\/strong><\/p>\nA:<\/strong> We need Congress to take action. There have been 15 years now of repeated failures by healthcare companies to comply with what was a landmark law in 2008 around mental health parity and substance use disorder.<\/p>\nThat law passed by Congress has never been enforced. Those violations continue to be more serious than they were a decade ago.<\/p>\n
It affects patients with autism. It affects patients with eating disorders, substance use disorders. It delays care. It\u2019s harming patients.<\/p>\n
And we are likely causing deaths to happen that are avoidable. We know that there are federal actions that could be taken to help with this, including enabling patients to recover losses associated with an improper denial of care.<\/p>\n
The other aspect around mental health access that is really important is permanently expanding access to telehealth.<\/p>\n
Q: Critics have long said the AMA is primarily a self-interested trade group. How is that a misconception?<\/strong><\/p>\nA:<\/strong> We have a pretty simple message, and it\u2019s to elevate the art and science of medicine for the betterment of human health. And that\u2019s why we care about things like climate change and things like health equity.<\/p>\nWe have to make sure that there is joy in the practice of medicine. We have to make sure that our healthcare systems reward and support and allow practices to thrive.<\/p>\n
And you look at boneheaded decisions like the fact that physicians got a 2% pay cut from Medicare this past January as opposed to an inflation update. Those are things that are important. They\u2019re financial.<\/p>\n
But without advocacy in those realms, practices will close. Medicare patients won\u2019t have a doctor to see. And we just we can\u2019t allow that to happen.<\/p>\n
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\n Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Skip to main content CHICAGO\u00a0\u2014 The first openly gay person to lead the American Medical Association takes the reins at a fractious time for U.S. healthcare. Transgender patients and those seeking abortion care face restrictions in many places. The medical judgment of physicians is being overridden by state laws. Disinformation is rampant. And the nation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":628419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1963,35067,3850],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-628418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-american","category-heath","category-medical"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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