After the House passed the American Health Care Act, a division of the Association of American Medical Colleges began circulating an online petition Saturday calling for a more comprehensive ACA replacement.
AAMC Action, a grassroots community of roughly 185,000 residents, medical students and others in academic medicine, is calling for its members to sign a petition calling on Congress to pass a "comprehensive" replacement for the ACA before repealing it.
"We're ready to engage with the Senate to find solutions to America's healthcare needs. But the [AHCA], in its current form, isn't one of them," the AAMC Action team wrote in an email.
AAMC Action wants the Senate to create a plan with better protections for people with preexisting conditions and continued investment in Medicaid expansion. The group also wants legislators to craft an ACA replacement plan that would at least maintain current numbers of insured Americans and ensure "vulnerable patients who depend on the nation's teaching hospitals and physicians are able to get the care they need."
The AAMC opposed the bill passed last Thursday in the House. In an official statement, AAMC President and CEO Darrell Kirch, MD, said, "We encourage the Senate to take a different approach that fixes current problems without creating new ones. Key to this approach is committing to high-quality, affordable, comprehensive coverage for all, including maintaining Medicaid expansion and protecting individuals with preexisting conditions, as well as other vulnerable patients who depend on the nation’s teaching hospitals and physicians for their care." He added, "The AAMC stands ready to engage with the Senate to find ways to improve health care for all Americans.”
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly named the AAMC President as Andrew Gurman, MD, and included a quote from Dr. Gurman, who is president of the AMA. We regret this error.
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