"The AMA isn't "conservative". "
The AMA is VERY conservative, and always has been. You're just doing what the new, wingnutty (R)'s do, which is to disown groups that were formerly with you, but now dissent.
The AMA's Time-Proven Political Agenda
June 11, 2009 5:35 pm ET
mediamattersaction.org
Throughout its existence, the American Medical Association has used its clout and financial resources to champion conservative health care policies and defeat those offered by progressives.
NOW: THE AMA BACKS CONSERVATIVE GROUPS
The American Medical Association Donated $250,000 To The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce. According to 990 forms filed with the IRS, the American Medical Association donated $250,000 to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform in 2007. [AMA 2007 990 Form, accessed 6/11/09]
The American Medical Association Donated $17,500 To Conservative Health Policy Fellowship. In 2006, the American Medical Association donated $17,500 to the David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship. Trustees of the fellowship include Dean Rosen (former aide to Sen. Bill Frist and pharmaceutical/health insurance lobbyist), Joseph Antos (American Enterprise Institite), and Karen Lehman (Eli Lilly). [AMA 2006 990 Form, accessed 6/11/09; David A. Winston Health Policy Institute, accessed 6/11/09]
The American Medical Association Donated $5,000 The American Enterprise Institute. In 2006, the American Medical Association donated $5,000 to the American Enterprise Institute. [AMA 2006 990 Form, accessed 6/11/09]
The American Medical Association Supported The Fund For American Studies. According to 990 forms filed with the IRS, the American Medical Association donated $5,000 to the Fund for American Studies in 2007. [AMA 2007 990 Form, accessed 6/11/09]
The Fund For American Studies Is "A Prominent Educational Nonprofit For Conservatives." The Greensboro News & Record described the Fund for American Studies as "a prominent educational nonprofit for conservatives." [Greensboro News & Record, 11/27/05]
THEN: THE AMA BACKED CONSERVATIVE CAUSES
1960s: For Years, The AMA Fought The Formation Of Medicare. As Ronald J. Hrebenar noted in his book Interest Group Politics in America, the AMA "successfully fought Medicare for twenty years, spending millions of dollars for campaign contributions, lobbyists, and public relations. The AMA reported spending between $7 million and $12 million in 1962 to fight Medicare. As it became apparent that a federal program for assisting the health care costs of the elderly and low-income groups was going to be enacted, the physician group changed their tactics. The AMA turned from trying to block Medicare to trying to influence the drafting of the legislations. Under pressure from the AMA, the Medicare legislation proved to be a bonanza for doctors with little government control over t he large sums of tax money that paid for the program." [Hrebenar 307 via GoogleBooks, accessed 6/11/09]
1949: AMA Fought Against President Truman's Health Care Plan. According to W. Michael Byrd's An American Health Dilemma, in 1945, President Harry Truman proposed a national healthcare plan, which included a national health insurance fund. Byrd wrote: "To fight against the Truman plan-another form of 'socialized medicine'-the AMA took several steps. The 1949 assistant secretary-general manager of the AMA, Ernest B. Howard, M.D., recalled: 'That was the year we went to war with Truman.'" [Byrd, W. Michael, and Linda A. Clayton. An American Health Dilemma: Race, Medicine, and Health Care in the United States, 1900-2000. Routledge, 2001, pg. 237; via Google Books accessed 6/11/09]
1950: The AMA Conducted "A Vigorous And Costly Campaign" Against Supporters Of Truman's Health Care Plan. As described in Ronald Hamowy's American Health Care: "Attempts to enact a health insurance bill during the Truman era came to a definitive end with the elections of 1950. A number of prominent proponents of the measure in Congress, including Senators Elbert D. Thomas of Utah and Glen H. Taylor of Idaho, were defeated, in large measure because of a vigorous and costly campaign by the American Medical Association. The AMA, as the preeminent lobbyist against compulsory health insurance, had succeeded in associating Truman's plan in the mind of the public with notions of socialism, now in disrepute thanks to the Cold War mentality Truman himself had so energetically encouraged." [Feldman, Roger D.. American Health Care: Government, Market Processes, and the Public Interest . Transaction Publishers, 2000, pg. 25; via Google Books accessed 6/11/09]
1935: AMA Worked To Strip Health Care From Social Security Act Of 1935. While describing a national health insurance plan, Jaap Kooijman wrote in ...And the Pursuit of National Health: "Most historians of national health insurance in the United States have assumed that the direct cause of its failure was the opposition of predominantly the medical profession as mobilized by the AMA. The opposition of the medical profession convinced President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Committee on Economic Security that including national health insurance in the Social Security Act of 1935 would endanger the passage of the entire bill." [Kooijman, Jaap. ... And the Pursuit of National Health.The Incremental Strategy Toward National Health Insurance in the United States of America. Rodopi Bv Editions, 1999, pg. 8; via Google Book accessed 6/11/09]
The AMA "Organized What Became By Far The Most Expensive Lobbying Campaign In History." According to James L. Sundquist's Politics and Policy: "Their solution was a program of universal health insurance as part of the social security structure, and bills were introduced to that end. President Roosevelt did not embrace the issue but President Truman did - and collided head-on with the American Medical Association (AMA). That body organized what became by far the most expensive lobbying campaign in history, aimed at 'socialized medicine' and the Democratic politicians who supported the Truman plan." [Sundquist, James L.. Politics and Policy: The Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Years. Brookings Institution Press , 1968, pg. 290; via Google Books accessed 6/11/09]
1910s: The AMA Has History Of Fighting Against Progressive Healthcare Legislation. According to W. Michael Byrd's An American Health Dilemma, "Between 1912 and 1920, the AMA has a stellar record of defeating progressive health care programs for the elderly to programs for expectant mothers, infants and children." [Byrd, W. Michael, and Linda A. Clayton. An American Health Dilemma: Race, Medicine, and Health Care in the United States, 1900-2000. Routledge, 2001, pg. 237; via Google Books accessed 6/11/09]
–Media Matters Action Network |
