Advocacy

AMA National Advocacy Conference Recap

Marzena Buzanowska, MD, MHA, FACHE

River City Sports & Spine Specialists Columbus, GA

From February 23-25, members of the NASS Advocacy Committee participated in the 2026 AMA National Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC, joining forces with the American Medical Association (AMA) and other specialty societies to discuss the most pressing issues facing health care providers and millions of patients.

With the AMA’s support, our dedicated NASS representatives—R. Dale Blasier, MD, Gregory Przybylski, MD, Ronald Karnaugh, MD, and myself — gained valuable knowledge from keynote lectures to pass along to NASS membership, had impactful conversations with members of Congress, and interacted with leaders from key federal agencies such as the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Together, we worked to raise awareness about the challenges impacting our health care system and advocate for lasting change.

Here are some highlights from this three-day event.

Day 1

It was a high-energy afternoon in Washington, DC, as physicians and health care leaders gathered for the AMA National Advocacy Conference, where policy, politics, and personal conviction collided in real time.

Opening the session, John Whyte, the American Medical Association’s CEO, delivered a message emphasizing reassurance and resolve. He reminded attendees that the AMA, remains a consistent and influential presence on Capitol Hill. Advocacy work can feel daunting—often incremental and at times insufficient—but, he emphasized, it is making a measurable difference.

The urgency of that mission came into sharper focus during a widely anticipated fireside chat between AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, MD, and journalist and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta, MD. Mukkamala spoke candidly about his own recent diagnosis of a brain tumor, reflecting on both the vulnerability of being a patient and the profound gratitude he feels for the care he received. The experience, he said, has intensified his commitment to ensuring that every American has access to lifesaving medical treatment.

He posed a fundamental question to Gupta: How does the nation confront a health care system that remains inaccessible—or financially devastating—for so many? Gupta’s answer was pragmatic: incrementalism. Meaningful reform, he argued, is more likely to come through steady progress on smaller, solvable issues that collectively drive systemic change.

Entrepreneur Mark Cuban offered a sharper, more disruptive counterpoint. While expressing support for a single-payer system in principle, Cuban suggested that in the absence of sweeping reform, physicians need to be “more shifty”—his tongue-in-cheek way of urging the profession to speak more forcefully about the system’s unsustainability and to champion bold, innovative alternatives.

Cuban is not waiting for consensus. Through his company, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, he has sought to upend traditional pharmaceutical pricing by offering medications at a 15% markup over cost. He is also developing an alternative insurance model that would allow individuals to direct more of their health care dollars into personal spending accounts for medical expenses rather than into traditional insurance premium structures.

The afternoon underscored a defining tension in American health care reform: incremental change versus structural overhaul. But amid differing philosophies, one theme was unmistakable—the status quo is no longer acceptable, and the pressure to act is only intensifying.

Day 2

If Day 1 of the National Advocacy Conference was defined by reflection, Day 2 belonged to strategy and action.

The morning opened with remarks from two physician-members of Congress: Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Kim Schrier. Both lawmakers are members of the bipartisan Doctors Caucus, and delivered a clear message to attendees: physicians have allies on Capitol Hill. Key priorities—including Medicare payment reform, protecting science-based vaccine information, and addressing the growing harms of vertical integration in health care—are understood within the caucus, they said. And more importantly, they pledged their continued support and voice.

Before physicians fanned out across Capitol Hill, strategists from Mehlman Consulting Group offered a candid assessment of the political climate heading into midterm elections. Their guidance was pragmatic: in a polarized environment, incremental progress may be more achievable than sweeping reform. Lawmakers, they suggested, could be more open to advancing less polarizing issues such as prior authorization reform. By contrast, politically charged proposals—such as reversing Medicaid cuts—may face steeper headwinds in the current climate. The underlying message was less about ideology and more about relationships. Sustained advocacy, they emphasized, requires cultivating bipartisan trust. Progress is often built not in viral moments, but in steady, consistent engagement.

After lunch, white coats and business suits converged on the US Capitol. In meetings with members of Congress and their staff, physicians pressed for action on:

Reforming physician payment and eliminating budget neutrality constraints
Overhauling prior authorization processes
Preserving patient access to Medicaid

They brought with them more than policy briefs. They brought stories. Stories of patients waiting months for medication approvals. Of infants unable to access necessary treatments. Of insurance-mandated step therapy that delays appropriate care. Of private practices shuttering under unsustainable financial pressure—leaving patients with fewer choices, higher costs, and diminished access.

Reactions from lawmakers’ offices varied. Some were receptive, others pushed back. But each meeting reinforced several hard-earned lessons for the physician advocate:

Know your representative—both their policy positions and their personal priorities.
When possible, build relationships locally before arriving in Washington.
Speak the language of policy. Demonstrate an understanding of the legislative landscape.
Acknowledge what lawmakers already support and thank them.
Ask directly about the bills and health care priorities they are championing.
Anchor every policy request in real patient stories because those patients are their constituents.

For physicians accustomed to rapid diagnoses and decisive interventions, politics can feel slow, even discouraging. The forces at play are complex and often entrenched. But advocacy is a long game. Momentum builds through presence. Through numbers. Through repetition. Through relationships.

The message at the close of Day 2 was clear: meaningful change will not come overnight. But because we are on the right side of the issues, if enough physicians continue to show up—armed with data, discipline, and the lived experiences of their patients—progress is not only possible. It is inevitable.

Day 3

The final day of the AMA National Advocacy Conference closed with urgency. Five lawmakers—Democrats and Republicans—took the stage alongside senior officials from the US Department of Health and Human Services to discuss the future of American health care, including its rapid transformation in the age of artificial intelligence. The throughline was unmistakable: physician advocacy is not optional. It is essential to building a system that is sustainable, accessible and affordable.

Speaker after speaker reinforced a central theme that the AMA’s positions on physician payment reform, administrative burden, scope of practice and patient access are grounded in evidence and aligned with patient well-being. The message to attendees was to continue speaking up, and do so boldly.

One of the most striking moments came from Chris Klomp, Deputy Administrator at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, when he said, “I cannot underscore enough how much we want to hear from you. The door is open, please come talk to us.”

Yet the tone of the morning was not purely celebratory. There was encouragement, certainly. Many lawmakers and regulators appear to understand the structural problems facing physicians and patients. They articulate support for reforms that physicians have championed for years. And yet, progress remains uneven. If policymakers grasp the issues, and if they voice agreement, why do systemic pressures continue to intensify? Why do administrative burdens expand? Why does payment instability persist?

The disconnect suggests that being right on the substance is not always enough. Advocacy strategy, attendees acknowledged, must continually evolve. Messaging must be sharpened. Coalitions must broaden. Political timing must be considered. Pressure must be sustained. In Washington, agreement does not automatically translate into action.

With that sober clarity, physicians once again made their way to Capitol Hill, briefcases in hand, stories at the ready. The task remains straightforward, even if the path is not: remind elected officials that health policy is not abstract. It shapes whether patients receive timely care, whether practices survive, and whether communities grow healthier or sicker.

The final day did not offer easy answers. It offered something more durable: validation that the door is open, that voices are being heard, and that persistence, not perfection, moves policy forward.

And so, the knocking continues.