The Leftist American Medical Association Created A Federally-Funded Cash Cow That Fuels Their Woke Agenda
If you think the American Medical Association (AMA) is a credible group of doctors in white lab coats, think again. The AMA is a private trade association that wields vast influence over medical practices in this country, has found a government-mandated way to line its pockets, and promotes a radical trans agenda. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. needs to eliminate the AMA money grab to protect our families.
The Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes clinicians use to report services to health insurers have become a linchpin in the American health care system. These codes are federally mandated, and all health care providers must pay royalties to the AMA to use them. That’s a heck of a cash cow for the AMA.
In 2023, the AMA raked in a staggering $495 million in revenue. A full 62 percent, $308 million, came from royalties tied to the use of CPT codes. And every dollar is paid for by taxpayers, via Medicare and Medicaid, or employers and employees in the private health insurance market.
The AMA’s financial windfall is made possible by the federal government. In 1983, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) mandated that CPT codes be used to report services under Medicare Part B. By 1986, Medicaid programs also had to adopt these codes. The 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) then solidified CPT codes as the national standard for electronic health transactions. These federal mandates essentially forced every health care provider to rely on the AMA’s CPT code system, creating a monopoly. Cha-ching!
There is another model out there, though. The diagnoses being addressed by health care providers are tracked using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. But ICD codes are free for use by any entity worldwide. There is no reason a similar system couldn’t be developed for CPT codes.
Until that happens, the AMA will remain a highly lucrative business. In 2023, top staff was paid over $17.5 million, with the CEO pocketing a cool $2.75 million, and about $250 million paid out in total salaries. This is money that flows directly from the use of CPT codes, and it’s a powerful tool for political influence.
Indeed, in 2024, the AMA spent nearly $25 million lobbying lawmakers. And they’re lobbying for a politically charged, woke agenda, even promoting so-called “gender-affirming care.”
The AMA says, “medical and surgical treatments for gender dysphoria and gender incongruence” are “medically necessary,” and they will “advocate for federal, state, and local laws” to make your health insurance pay for it. And they want your tax dollars to pay for “prisoners … to access … the full range of treatments for gender dysphoria.”
Worst of all, your kids aren’t safe from the AMA who believe, “Positive health effects from gender-affirming care extend to children and adolescents as well.” The AMA’s CEO, James Madara, MD, shamelessly wrote to the National Governors Association “to oppose state legislation that would prohibit the provision of medically necessary gender transition-related care to minor patients.”
The AMA has also publicly advocated against “policies excluding transgender individuals from restrooms and other facilities.” In other words, the AMA is perfectly fine with that weird teacher lurking in your middle school daughter’s locker room.
By promoting the trans agenda, the AMA is using its substantial influence — funded by taxpayer dollars through federally mandated royalties — to advocate for policies that Americans repudiated in the last election and that may not be in line with the views of many doctors or patients across the country.
Before his confirmation to lead HHS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly considered the idea of having CMS take over the process of managing CPT codes. This would remove the financial windfall the AMA enjoys from its control over these codes. That’s a great idea.
The American people deserve better. HHS and CMS should take a hard look at whether it makes sense to continue allowing a private organization like the AMA to profit from the use of federally mandated codes, especially when that organization uses its financial power to push divisive political causes.
It’s time for the AMA’s cozy arrangement with the federal government to end. We need a health care system that works for patients and providers — not one that’s driven by the political priorities of powerful lobbyists. If we want to restore trust in our health care system, we need to start by reining in the AMA and ensuring that the focus is on providing quality care, not on promoting a dangerous, woke agenda at the expense of taxpayers and American families.
Jesus Christ is King
Comments are closed.