Delegation Chair and Vice Chair, Jill Owens, MD and John Vasudevan, MD, led twenty-eight members of the Pennsylvania Delegation to the American Medical Association (AMA) at the Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates (HOD or the House) in Chicago from June 6 – 11, 2025. The Delegation is a strong and respected voice at the AMA HOD, and represented Pennsylvania with honor at the meeting. Pennsylvania is fortunate to have as many attendees representing the AMA Board (Marilyn Heine, MD and Michael Suk, MD), task forces, committees, specialty societies and sections at the meeting, nearly doubling the voice of Pennsylvania at the meeting. The Pennsylvania Delegation welcomed Allegheny County Medical Society’s Executive Director, Sara Hussey, CAE, to the meeting who participated in Delegation activities and AMA educational opportunities. 

The business of the House ranged across all areas of the physician and patient experience, including public health initiatives, Medicare Payment Reform, advocacy issues, and more. The Pennsylvania Delegation submitted a resolution in response to the PAMED HOD 2025: AMA Resolution 226 — Regulations for Algorithmic-Based Health Insurance Utilization Review. This resolution had very strong support, and there had been significant current policy presented which determined that the current AMA policies could be reaffirmed. A win for everyone, substantive policy is in place to support the call of the resolution.  

On Monday of the House, members and the public learned of the removal of the sitting members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Following, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees (and PAMED 4th District Trustee), Michael Suk, MD, MPH, JD, MBA, made comments on the floor of the House affirming the AMA’s commitment to AMA principles of evidence, ethics, and the sacred duty to heal. Following, the House introduced an emergency resolution calling on vocal support of the current ACIP structure and reversal of the removal of qualified members. 

Presidential, Board, and Council elections take place at the Annual Meeting, and Pennsylvania was thrilled to elect two additional Pennsylvania Physicians to council positions: 

• Laura Faye Gephart, MD, MBA: AMA Council on Medical Service 

• Joey Whelihan, MD (resident member): AMA Council on Medical Education 

These strong leaders will serve their councils, the AMA, and their physician colleagues well. Pennsylvania also looks forward to the candidacies of the following leaders at next year’s elections: 

• Michael Suk, MD, JD, MPH, MBA: President Elect 

• Marilyn Heine, MD: Board of Trustees (re-election) 

   

Lastly, the Pennsylvania Delegation was able to spend some social time in camaraderie with each other. The Delegation dinner allowed the group to connect over a delicious dinner! 

The Delegation looks forward to bringing important topics from the PAMED HOD and other initiatives to the AMA in November 2025, and furthering our advocacy impact with representation at the AMA’s National Advocacy Conference in February 2026. If you are interested in getting involved with the AMA’s work, please complete this form to learn more. 

For more highlights from the AMA, review their releases and recaps here.