In response to the Becker's Hospital Review report, "Wall Street Journal: After Making a Deal on Healthcare Reform, AMA Still Can't Get to Permanent Fee-Fix," a comment attributed to American Medical Association President Cecil B. Wilson, MD, read as the following:
The Wall Street Journal's editorial is completely distorted. The AMA is working with members of both political parties to stop the cut through the end of 2011. The current one-month patch reflects the realities of a lame-duck Congress and the cost of reform. Blame for the current Medicare meltdown and the increasingly expensive price tag lies at Congress' door — neither political party is exempt. We are committed to reform of the broken Medicare physician payment system, which both Republicans and Democrats agree has been a problem long before the debate over health reform began.
Our qualified support for the health reform law was based on it meeting a majority of strong principles that reflected policies established by AMA's House of Delegates, which includes members from every state and medical specialty society. There was no quid-pro-quo, despite shopworn claims to the contrary from those who aim to dismantle improvements to our health system.