AMA takes on social issues, backs reform, rebuts 100-year trend

After a century of health-reform opposition - with highlights such as coining the term "socialized medicine," - the American Medical Association is now supporting Democrats' overhaul efforts, as well as taking on a few one taboo social issues, NPR's Health Blog reports. At a recent meeting, the group called for the government "to revisit the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug," and for the military to sack the "don't ask, don't tell policy on gays and lesbians in its ranks.

In an interview with Dr. James Rohack, the association's president, NPR asks "What's going on?" Rohack says, "In the past some have painted the AMA as an organization of 'no.' We oppose, we oppose, we oppose. In the 21st century, I think the AMA reflects an organization that looks to improve care and meet our mission of helping doctors help patients" (Hensley 11/12).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.