PRIVATEERS OF HEALTHCARE

Longtime ally splits with GOP over culture war issues: 'We continue to see an attack on science'

Travis Gettys
September 30, 2023 

Doctor issues prescriptions to woman (Shutterstock)

The American Medical Association has split with the Republican Party over culture war issues.

The nation's most influential doctors' group has long aligned with the GOP on regulation and other topics, but disagreements on abortion, transgender care, gun rights and climate change has found Republican lawmakers accusing the group of practicing "wokeism," reported Politico.

“They do have some issues and some credibility to regain with those who practice,” said Rep. Greg Murphy, (R-NC), a urologist who co-chairs the GOP Doctors Caucus, who took a shot at the AMA's “social justice and equity agenda.”

One lobbyist for health providers said GOP lawmakers and staffers react to almost any mention of the AMA with an eye roll, while another lobbyist who represents a physician group said their employer hesitates to work with the AMA due to its reputation among conservatives.

“Their credibility is so diminished that it’s a liability,” that lobbyist said, adding that Republicans often ask: “What the hell is with the AMA?”

AMA president Jesse Ehrenfeld said the group has been forced to speak out against Republican attacks on science and due to concerns about gun violence.

“We continue to see an attack on science and evidence-based medicine,” Ehrenfeld said, "and we will always stand up for the science.”

But the AMA continues to donate generously to Republican candidates despite their opposing views on many social and health issues to avoid cuts to Medicare payments to doctors, which the group has warned could lead physicians to stop treating those patients.

Cuts to Medicare reimbursements would be “existential threats to our profession and to our patients," warned former AMA president Jack Resneck in his farewell address.