Yesterday, the American Medical Association (AMA) announced its support for the nomination of Dr. Tom Price for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The statement highlights Dr. Price’s experience as a physician and legislator, citing his leadership in the development of health policies to “advance patient choice and market-based solutions.”

The AMA represents approximately a quarter of physicians in the US — a loud, but minority voice. It certainly does not speak for us.

We are practicing physicians who deliver healthcare in hospitals and clinics, in cities and rural towns; we are specialists and generalists, and we care for the poor and the rich, the young and the elderly. We see firsthand the difficulties that Americans face daily in accessing affordable, quality healthcare. We believe that in issuing this statement of support for Dr. Price, the AMA has reneged on a fundamental pledge that we as physicians have taken — to protect and advance care for our patients.

We support patient choice. But Dr. Price’s proposed policies threaten to harm our most vulnerable patients and limit their access to healthcare. We cannot support the dismantling of Medicaid, which has helped 15 million Americans gain health coverage since 2014. We oppose Dr. Price’s proposals to reduce funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a critical mechanism by which poor children access preventative care. We wish to protect essential health benefits like treatment for opioid use disorder, prenatal care, and access to contraception.

We see benefits in market-based solutions to some of our healthcare system’s challenges. Like many others, we advocate for improvements in the way healthcare is delivered. But Dr. Price purports to care about efficiency, while opposing innovations by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to improve value and eliminate waste in healthcare. He supports plans to privatize Medicare, a critical program which covers 44 million of our elderly patients.

The AMA’s vision statement includes “improving health outcomes” and “better health for all,” and yet by supporting Dr. Price’s candidacy — and therefore, his views — the AMA has not aligned itself with the well-being of patients.

As physicians, we challenge the AMA’s position by affirming our commitment to our patients above all else. Americans ought to know that the AMA does not represent us, and that we do not ascribe to Dr. Price’s views. We will continue to strive towards better health for all, regardless of the barriers ahead.

Manik Chhabra, MD, Navin Vij, MD, Jane M. Zhu, MD, MPP