Candidate for election at 2024 Annual Meeting: David H. Aizuss, MD

Elections will be held at the Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates on June 11, 2024.

Officers and seven councils are elected by the American Medical Association House of Delegates (HOD) at the Annual Meeting. The elections are conducted during a special election session under the supervision of the Committee on Rules and Credentials and the chief teller, who are appointed by the speakers. The speaker and vice speaker are responsible for overall administration of the elections. Voting is conducted by secret ballot.

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2024-2028

 

 

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As the current secretary of the AMA Board of Trustees, David Aizuss, MD, is a proven and tireless advocate for patients and physicians as well as a respected leader. During pivotal changes to our health care system, Dr. Aizuss has been at the forefront, fighting for his colleagues, his patients and the future of medicine. From winning multiple high-profile battles on physician scope of practice in California to public health regulation on issues such as vaccines, mental health and gun violence, Dr. Aizuss has been a trusted expert for colleagues and legislators alike.

Physician and patient advocacy have been at the heart of Dr. Aizuss’ career. As a medical student at Northwestern University, he emerged as a leader in the Illinois State Medical Society’s Medical Student Section, later serving on the AMA-MSS and AMA-RFS Governing Councils. Dr. Aizuss continues to make the inclusion of young voices an important focus of his work in organized medicine and believes that leadership opportunities should be provided to students and residents, so they do not have to wait 20 to 30 years to finally be heard on matters that impact them now.

As chair of the board and later president of the California Medical Association, Dr. Aizuss was personally responsible for implementing a new organizational emphasis on diversity and inclusion, creating a Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee at a time when its creation was not ranked an association priority. His guidance led CMA to significantly diversify the leadership on its councils, committees and delegation to the AMA.

His steadfast leadership and dedication to organized medicine is why Dr. Aizuss is endorsed by the:

• California Medical Association
• AMA PacWest Conference
• American College of Surgeons
• Section Council on Ophthalmology
• Mobility Caucus

As secretary of the AMA Board of Trustees, Dr. Aizuss believes four advocacy priorities are critical to the future of AMA and the practice of medicine:

1. Medicare payment reform is critical to the future of medical practice. The reality is, the failure to increase Medicare reimbursement in line with inflation threatens the viability of all practices, from solo small to the largest of large institutions. The fact that Congress only halted 1.68% of Medicare cuts this year, with no planned updates, demonstrates a lack of understanding of the seriousness of this situation. We need to hammer home the message that patient care quality and access is threatened and engage our patients in our Congressional outreach.

2. Scope expansion is accelerating, posing a major threat to patient safety. State legislatures do not comprehend the importance of the physician led health care team. Physician shortages cannot be resolved by giving untrained non-physician providers carte blanche to provide unrestricted care. As a result, costs are rising, and patients are being harmed and losing access to physicians when and where they need them most. AMA needs to substantially increase the resources available to state associations and specialty societies.

3. Physician workforce studies show that 334,000 health care workers have left the workforce since 2021, including 117,000 physicians, exacerbated by pandemic related burnout. This exodus is compounded by the accelerated trend of physicians leaving private practice for employment. Physicians report lower quality of care and satisfaction in situations where they don’t control care. Meanwhile, inadequate graduate medical education funding has worsened the physician shortage and impacted our medical students who fear failing to obtain a residency position after accumulating massive educational debt, while non-physician providers jump from specialty to specialty with no educational standards or maintenance of certification.

4. Government intrusion in medical practice: AMA policy opposes the interference of the government in the practice of medicine and opposes laws that prohibit physicians from providing evidence-based care that is in the best interests of their patients. We must trumpet these policies nationwide to preserve our patients’ access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care options and to ensure that patient access to gender affirming care is maintained.

Dr. Aizuss has been married to his wife Felicia for 35 years, and they are the proud parents of two daughters. Dr. Aizuss is currently the managing partner of an eight-physician multi-specialty ophthalmology medical and surgical group in Los Angeles, the largest private multi-specialty ophthalmology group in the region. He practices full time, seeing patients Monday through Friday and operating once or twice weekly. In addition to work at his busy practice, Dr. Aizuss has served as chief of surgery, chair of quality improvement and vice chief of staff at his local hospital as well as chairing the governing board of his ambulatory surgery center.

Please join all of his endorsing organizations in supporting Dr. David Aizuss for re-election to the AMA Board of Trustees.

Questions? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Dr. Aizuss at [email protected] and visit our website at AizussforAMA.com.

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• Visit the AMA elections page for information on other candidates running for office.
• Find up to date information for the June Annual Meeting of the HOD.