CHICAGO – Medical tourism and medical student debt burden were two of the hot topics at a five-day, mid-June meeting of the American Medical Association at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.
About 4,000 physicians discussed and voted on policies at the annual meeting of the AMA’s House of Delegates, a forum designed to create a national physician consensus on healthcare issues in the United States. That consensus results in policies that become the driving force behind the AMA's advocacy.
The meeting establishes policies on emerging issues in science, ethics, government, public health and business, said officials.
Among the nine new AMA principles formed at the meeting was a call for all medical care sought outside the United States to be voluntary. The guidelines address financial incentives, insurance coverage for care abroad and care coordination.
The AMA attributes the emergence of medical tourism in part to the rising cost of healthcare in the United States, which puts needed healthcare out of reach for many, particularly those without healthcare coverage. In 2006, an estimated 150,000 Americans received healthcare overseas, and nearly half of the procedures were for medically necessary surgeries.
“We need to address the cost of care in the U.S. and cover the uninsured so that every American who needs healthcare can get it right here at home,” said AMA Board Member J. James Rohack, MD. “Until there is significant action at home, patients with limited resources may turn elsewhere for care. It is important that U.S. patients have access to credible information and resources so that the care they receive abroad is safe and effective.”
Needy medical students are in for better help as well. Many have worries about how large debt “will dissuade premedical students, especially those from diverse backgrounds, from entering the profession at a time when our (country) is projected to have a physician shortage”
According to reports, the AMA has resolved to pursue “long-term solutions to the student debt crisis by hiring an economic consulting firm to analyze the feasibility of novel solutions,” including:
• Competency-based curricula that shorten the length of undergraduate education and medical school;
• Work-study opportunities;
• Paid rotating internships for fourth-year students who have passed initial licensing exams and have the training equivalents of mid-level providers;
• Financial investment funds that match parental savings;
• Relief for dual degrees not covered by the National Institute of Health;
• Pursuit of government Medicare funding for undergraduate medical education funding; and
• Implementing international medical student tuition models, among other viable options.
Also in Chicago, physicians “reaffirmed the current AMA proposal to cover the uninsured” and voted to study the impact of free clinics on improving access to healthcare for the uninsured and study the tax treatment of health savings accounts.
“While we work to cover the uninsured, we need to find ways to care for those in need now,” said AMA Board Member Cyril Hetsko, MD. “The AMA will be looking into ways free clinics can fill the void for uninsured patients until we can get everyone covered.”