Health system reform will loom large at the next meeting of the AMA's House
of Delegates, which will be held next June.
Among the items to be considered are options for reforming the way Medicare
pays physicians. A report by the AMA's Council on Medical Services released at
the Interim Meeting in November outlined four options for payment reform (see
AMA Suggests Ways to Change How Medicare Pays M.D.s). The AMA is
seeking input from state and specialty medical societies on these options, and
APA's Office of Healthcare Systems and Financing—along with relevant
councils—will review the CMS report and provide comments.
In addition, the Section Council on Psychiatry will be introducing a
resolution that advocates for mandatory, comprehensive, and uniform screening
of newborns for major hereditable disorders and for adequate and appropriate
funding to support such screening programs. And it calls on the AMA to work
with all appropriate state and specialty societies to enhance public awareness
of hereditable disorders and the availability of comprehensive screening
procedures.
Another resolution from the section council will concern lead-screening
programs for children. It will seek to have the AMA's Council on Science and
Public Health review and update its 1994 report on children and lead and
generate evidenced-based recommendations on screening for lead. The resolution
also calls on the AMA to advocate for updated policies, procedures, and
standards with respect to lead-screening programs, consistent with current
research and scientific knowledge.
The Section Council on Psychiatry includes APA, the American Academy of
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Academy of Psychiatry and
the Law.
APA members wishing to provide input or who seek more information on
these matters may contact Becky Yowell at
byowell@psych.org
or call (703)-907-8593. ▪