FEDERAL | ASPS Attends AMA House of Delegates Annual Meeting

Representative delegates from ASPS attended the American Medical Association’s (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD) Annual Meeting in Chicago in June. Lynn Jeffers, MD, FACS and Bob Havlik, MD serve as the Society’s delegates in the HOD, with Raj Ambay, MD, DDS and Bob Basu, MD, MPH, FACS serving as alternate delegates. During the June meeting, plastic surgeons were instrumental in negotiating strong out-of-network billing policy for the AMA. Additionally, the AMA House of Delegates adopted policy on maintenance of certification aimed at making the process less burdensome for physicians. It also passed proposals that focused on transparency in drug pricing, addressing the opioid crisis and reducing the burden of prior authorization on physician, respectively.

The AMA’s HOD is the principal policy-making body of the AMA. This democratic forum represents the views and interests of a diverse group of member physicians from more than 170 state and specialty societies. Delegates meet twice a year to establish policy on health, medical, professional and governance matters, as well as the AMA’s business activity principles.