While the vast majority of Americans trust the public health information they are getting from their own primary care physicians and organizations such as the AMA, nearly three in five say they do not have confidence in the advice they are hearing from the leaders of federal agencies.

Those sobering findings are the result of a nationally representative poll of nearly 1,700 U.S. adults conducted in February by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg Public Policy Center.

My latest for the AMA. Read the whole shebang.

More than one-third of both nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) said in surveys conducted on behalf of the AMA that they have switched the specialty in which they provide care at some point during their career.

While most nurse practitioners and physician assistants are trained to practice primary care, overwhelming majorities said additional formal training to gain the knowledge, acumen and skills needed to help provide care in the new specialty area was rarely pursued.

The findings—published last week in conjunction with the 2026 AMA State Advocacy Summit held in Southern California—shed light on a rising trend in U.S. health care that stands in stark relief with the rhetoric often advanced by nonphysician providers in their push to expand their scope of practice in ways that can undermine the physician-led care team.

My latest for the AMA. Read the whole shebang.

As the temperatures drop and Americans spend more time together in close quarters over the holidays, the AMA is stepping up its efforts to give patients and doctors the resources they need to understand the safety and efficacy of vaccines and have productive conversations about immunization.

The work comes amid a reported measles outbreak in South Carolina, the influenza and respiratory-virus season, and actions on the hepatitis B vaccine taken by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Given the increase in conflicting information about vaccines, it is understandable that some patients may be confused about how to keep their families and themselves healthy.

“With a recent poll showing that Americans are likelier to trust the AMA than the CDC on vaccines, we are working to give patients the reliable answers they need to help protect themselves and their families from preventable diseases,” said AMA CEO and Executive Vice President John Whyte, MD, MPH. “There’s a lot of information out there on this vitally important issue and not all of it is accurate. Who is doing the talking matters. The bottom line is this: If you have questions about vaccines, talk with your physician.”

My latest for the AMA. Read the whole shebang.

But they were busy!

Here are my latest bylined articles, which were published on the AMA website over the last couple of weeks:

• More than 150 scope-creep bills defeated in 2025
• Is partial heart transplant a safe and feasible option?
• Spending on GLP-1s has grown dramatically. Here are the details.
• AMA urges alternative approaches for two flawed CMS proposals
• 9 great JAMA resources for dermatologists to share with patients

Here is what I’ve been up to the last couple of months, at least in terms of what has made it to the AMA website as a story with my byline.

• Aug. 15: One wrinkle to surprise billing law? Health plans aren’t paying up
• Aug. 1: Latest ACIP move is dangerous to the nation’s health
• July 28, 2025: Hands off the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, says AMA; Shift to value-based care will stumble without help from Congress; Top medical journal editors defend their standards, independence
• July 25: White House AI plan could help boost transparency, oversight
• July 21: Physicians will see Medicare payments rise in 2026
• July 14: Inside payers’ latest plans to streamline prior authorization
• June 25: Senate budget-reconciliation bill risks worsening access to care
• June 11: Highlights from the 2025 AMA Annual Meeting
• June 9: In burnout work, take care with physicians’ personal health data

The AMA is applauding New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for safeguarding the vision of patients by recently vetoing legislation that would have allowed optometrists to perform a wide range of complex surgical procedures.

In her veto message, Lujan Grisham reiterated concerns raised by the AMA and other physician organizations, stating: “I am vetoing this bill because it sets a dangerous precedent for allowing nonsurgeons to perform surgical procedures.”

The governor’s message says “there is no persuasive evidence that this bill would increase access to care. Data shows that expansion of laser authority for optometrists has not resulted in a statistically significant increase in access to these procedures for patients.”

My latest for the AMA. Read the whole shebang.

The massive budget package passed by the House of Representatives Thursday includes provisions on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program that “could create additional administrative burdens for patients,” AMA Executive Vice President and CEO James L. Madara, MD, noted in a May 20 letter to House leadership.

Such hurdles “in these two safety-net programs are a proven barrier to eligible individuals enrolling for coverage, especially given that of the estimated 25.3 million uninsured Americans in 2023, 6.3 million were eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but not enrolled, often due to administrative barriers.”

In his letter, Dr. Madara wrote that physicians “know that Medicaid is a vital component of America’s health care infrastructure, providing health insurance coverage to millions of patients and serving as a critical safety net for children, pregnant and postpartum women, seniors, and people with disabilities and serious health conditions.”

He added that “Medicaid coverage is associated with improved long-term health, lower rates of mortality, better health outcomes, fewer hospitalizations, better educational outcomes, and greater financial security.” The AMA’s letter goes on to describe the federal-state program as “an indispensable source of coverage for maternal health services, covering over 40% of all births in the United States, including almost 50% of births in rural areas.”

The House budget bill’s provisions “may increase the risk of wrongful denials or disenrollments, disrupting patients’ access to care and potentially affecting the continuity of care physicians strive to provide,” Dr. Madara wrote. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 8.7 million people would lose Medicaid coverage under these provisions, and 7.6 million more would be uninsured within 10 years.

My latest for the AMA. Read the whole shebang.

The AMA strongly supports moves in Congress that would adjust Medicare physician payment to rise with the rate of practice-cost inflation while warning that Medicaid proposals in the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s budget-reconciliation text would add administrative complexity and lead to coverage interruptions that especially affect Americans with low incomes and those living in rural areas.

In response to the budget-reconciliation text released Sunday night, AMA Executive Vice President and CEO James L. Madara, MD, wrote in strong support of section 44304 of the committee’s recommendations, which “provides the first Medicare physician payment update that is permanently built into baseline Medicare rates since the passage of the Medicare and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) in 2015.” Such a change was recommended by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and would link Medicare physician payments to the Medicare Economic Index (MEI).

My latest for the AMA. Read the whole shebang, which also addresses the impact of proposed Medicaid changes.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has recommended that Congress link next year’s physician payment update to the growth in the cost of providing care. The first move in that direction came last month as Congress failed to eliminate this year’s 2.8% cut, marking the fifth consecutive year of cuts.

“MedPAC has highlighted how Congress can strengthen Medicare policy,” said AMA President Bruce A. Scott, MD, who noted that the MedPAC “report offers a road map to Congress on how to address the cuts.”

Dr. Scott added that “the AMA appreciates commissioners and staff for listening to physicians around the country.”

MedPAC voted in March to recommend to Congress a 2026 payment update to physician practices of Medical Economic Index (MEI) minus 1 percentage point.

“MedPAC was created to advise Congress. Now, will lawmakers listen?” Dr. Scott said. “We welcome MedPAC’s help in highlighting the danger of doing nothing. The status quo is not an option.”

My latest for the AMA. The whole shebang.

A short-term funding bill unveiled over the weekend entirely fails to address Medicare physician payment cuts that are endangering the medical practices that deliver high-quality care to older adult patients nationwide.

“Physicians across the country are outraged that Congress’s proposed spending package locks in a devastating fifth consecutive year of Medicare cuts, threatening access to care for 66 million Medicare patients,” said AMA President Bruce A. Scott, MD, an otolaryngologist in Louisville, Kentucky. “Despite repeated warnings, lawmakers are once again ignoring the dire consequences of these cuts and their impact both on patients and the private practices struggling to keep their doors open.”

My latest for the AMA. Read the whole shebang.