Statement attributable to:
Omar T. Atiq, MD, MACP
President, American College of Physicians
WASHINGTON March 8, 2024 – The American College of Physicians (ACP) supports making health care more accessible and affordable and is grateful that these issues were prioritized in President Biden’s State of the Union address to Congress last night. We agree that it is critical that all Americans be able to afford the health care they need. We have been glad to see the start of Medicare drug price negotiations authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act, and we’d like to see those negotiations expanded to additional drugs as a way of reigning in prices. We were appreciative of the call to expand price caps on insulin and other prescription drugs to private insurers. We also are encouraged by the call to extend premium tax credits that help low-income individuals afford health insurance. With these credits in place, we have seen record enrollment over the past few years.
Finally, we share the president’s concern about the threat to access to reproductive health care that we have seen across the country in the past two years. Our patients need to be able to access appropriate, evidence-based medical care, including the full range of reproductive health care services, without undue political interference. Physicians must not face civil, criminal, or licensure penalties for providing medical care. We agree with the president that instead of policies that restrict access and threaten patients and their physicians, we should be looking for ways to promote equitable access to reproductive health care services and to safeguard maternal health across the country.
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About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 161,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.