Establishing policy: The AMA House of Delegates is the principal policy group of the AMA. The ACR currently has one delegate that votes on policy before the House of Delegates. The House of Delegates, composed of elected representatives from state and specialty societies across the United States, reviews hundreds of resolutions twice a year to determine which resolutions will become policies of the AMA. Policies that have been discussed recently include the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate formula, pay for performance, electronic medical records, obesity, and a universal health plan.
Allow the voice of rheumatologists to be heard at CPT, at RUC, on federal issues, on national issues, and with insurance issues that affect all physicians. It is easy to join the AMA. You can visit the AMA Web site at https://membership.ama-assn.org/JoinRenew, or call (800) 262-3211. If we do not increase the number of rheumatologists that belong to the AMA, the ACR will lose its voice in the AMA.
Join with me in having rheumatologists’ voices heard. Join the AMA.
Dr. Birnbaum is president of ACR. Contact him via e-mail at [email protected].
