Family Physicians Join Push to Reform Primary Care Payment and Regulation 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020

Statement attributable to:
Ada D. Stewart, MD
President
American Academy of Family Physicians

John Brady, MD
Chair, Board of Directors
American Board of Family Medicine

“Today the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Board of Family Medicine joined five other national primary care organizations to take a stand in advocating for major reforms in primary care payment and regulation. A press release announced the effort, as well as a website detailing the shared principles of primary care. 

“Eight in 10 Americans rely on primary care as the foundation of the U.S. health care system, and no specialty is more grounded in the provision of first contact, comprehensive, continuous primary care than family medicine. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare what was already obvious to us on the frontlines of primary care: there is an urgent need to improve both health and health care in our country. This can only be accomplished with a healthy and vibrant primary care work force. The time has come to unshackle primary care from historical models of funding and regulation that have limited the full realization of its potential and contributed to burnout and practice instability or closure.

“Our organizations are joined in this effort by the American College of Physicians, the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Board of Pediatrics, and the Society of General Internal Medicine—representing more than 400,000 primary care physicians nationwide. Together, we are promoting this stance and its supporting evidence with the incoming administration and other policy makers, health care administrators, employers, payers and patients. 

“There will be some who will resist fundamental changes to our primary health care system. We need the voice of other organizations that value primary care to sign onto this proposal and join this effort. Together, by mobilizing the voice of family physicians across this land, we can begin the process of building a more equitable and effective health care system.”

Editor's Note: To arrange an interview with Dr. Stewart, contact Megan Moriarty, 800-274-2237, Ext. 6052, or mmoriarty@aafp.org. To arrange and interview with Dr. Brady, contact Shannon White, swhite@theabfm.org, or media@theabfm.org.

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About American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 133,500 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the largest medical society devoted solely to primary care. Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits -- that’s 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. To learn more about the specialty of family medicine, the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, and for downloadable multi-media highlighting family medicine, visit www.aafp.org/media. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s award-winning consumer website, www.familydoctor.org.

About American Board of Family Medicine
Founded in 1969, ABFM is a not-for-profit, private organization whose mission is to improve the health of the public through Board Certification, Residency Training, Research, Leadership Development, and promoting the development of the specialty of Family Medicine. As of summer 2018, ABFM has more than 97,000 Diplomates and is the third largest of 24 boards that make up the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Through ABMS, the specialty boards work together to establish common standards for physicians to achieve and maintain board certification.