Q&A WITH THE AMA — Jesse Ehrenfeld, recently inaugurated as the American Medical Association’s president, takes his post amid increasing political pressures on doctors and discord around the policies that determine their pay. He spoke to Pulse about what’s on his mind and his goals for leading one of the most powerful provider groups in Washington. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. What do you make of what seems to be increasing political influence on health care? We've got a whole lot of backseat drivers trying to tell doctors how to practice medicine. For a while, we just had insurance companies through prior authorization practices that get in the way of medical decision-making. Now, increasingly, we're seeing legislators through their activities interfere with our ability to practice evidence-based medicine. We have longstanding policy … to push back against intrusion on the doctor-patient relationship. Is there a concern that speaking out on polarizing issues will further divide who trusts medical professionals? I don’t think so. We've obviously got a lot of challenges ahead of us in terms of the messages that people are able and willing to receive, but people still trust their doctors. That’s been a consistent theme for decades, and we continue to see that be true today. Ultimately, I remain optimistic. We can get this right. We can maintain that trust. We have seen threats from some Republican lawmakers to tie funding for some providers to political issues like gender-affirming care. Are you concerned about funding and politics becoming increasingly linked? I’m not particularly concerned about that issue. I think that, ultimately, we will have an ability to separate some of these socially charged challenges from doing what’s right for all patients — and to maintain access for children on Medicaid and CHIP and for seniors through Medicare. Have you gotten nods from lawmakers that those are separate issues? I don’t know if I’ve gotten nods, but I haven’t seen them really connected the way that you’re describing in a meaningful way. There are certainly elected officials who like to make talking points and generate news coverage for politically motivated things that just don’t make sense. But we’ll ultimately, I think, prevail in trying to get rational payment policy through Congress. What are your goals for your tenure leading the AMA? I’ll be leading the AMA’s Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians — that’s among my main priorities. I know firsthand — the AMA knows firsthand — how physicians have put everything into our response to Covid over the last three years. And now, it’s time for the nation to renew its commitment to physicians and shore up our health care system. We’ve got a health care system in crisis. And as president, I’m going to continue to help the AMA lead our charge to prioritize our recovery plan, which includes reforming Medicare payments to physicians, improving telehealth and reducing the stigma around mental health care and burnout. Personally, issues of LGBTQ health and health equity are close to my heart and have long been a focus of my work in medicine — and will certainly be an important part of my work in the year ahead. WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE. Are you also leading a major health care organization or in discussions with policymakers about what’s happening on the Hill? We want to hear from you. Drop me a line at dpayne@politico.com. TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, host Carmen Paun talks with Robert King, who reports on congressional Republicans' criticism of CMS for ignoring the advice of an appointed board of doctors on how to transition Medicare payment policies using new payment models.
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