In a press conference Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was joined by Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT), Max Baucus (D-MT) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) to discuss the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its Managers' Amendment, which just passed a procedural vote on cloture. (See, DM 11057). They were joined by Cecil Wilson, President-Elect of the American Medical Association, who formally endorsed the bill on behalf of the physician group.

"We appreciate his support not only as a doctor of medicine but his contributions to the military where he was a flight surgeon. For us to get the support of the American Medical Association is really important and really makes us, who have worked on this for so long, have a little bit of humility," Reid stated in introducing Dr. Wilson.

Reid also noted, "In the last several days we have also received support [from] several other organizations--the Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals, American Cancer Society, the AARP.. .each of these organizations know the cost of inaction is too high and our bill will bring needed relief to millions and millions of Americans who wake up every day without health insurance or waking up every day afraid they are going to lose their health insurance. Like those in the medical field, our duty is to care for all people, not just those who are fortunate."

Dr. Wilson said, "The Senate bill includes a number of key benefits for meaningful reform. It will include improvements in choice and access to affordable health insurance coverage, and eliminate denial based on preexisting conditions. It will get rid of lifetime limits on health care coverage, as well as higher premiums on based on medical conditions or gender. These are important benefits for those who have insurance now and for those who want it but have been unable get it. America has the best health care in the world if you can get it. But for far too many people access to care is out of reach because they lack insurance and this is just not acceptable to physicians who provide high quality care in an often fragmented system that doesn't work for them or their patients."

Dr. Wilson noted key provision of the bill including: increased coverage for preventive and wellness care that can lead to better disease management and prevention, development of research that can help patients and physicians compare treatments and make better informed medical decisions, and grants to test alternatives in medical liability reforms. The Managers' Amendment increases payments to primary care physicians and general surgeons in underserved areas while no longer cutting payments to other physicians and eliminates the tax on physicians' services in cosmetic surgery and drops the physician enrollment fee for Medicare, he noted.

"There is still work to do and the AMA will stay actively engaged throughout the conference process to further improve the final bill for patients and physicians," he said. He added that issues of concern remain including creation of a Medicare Payment Board and quality improvement in Medicare data release initiatives, and the physician payment formula.

"The AMA is committed to health system reform that improves the system for patients and the physicians who take care of them, and we are pleased to be able to support passage of the amended Senate health system reform bill."

The entire remarks by the Senators and Dr. Wilson can be accessed at: http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/12/21/HP/A/27603/Senate+Democrats+Health+Care+Press+Conference.aspx

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