Medical Schools at the Crossroads

Abstract

nation's 114 medical schools are represented in Washington by what people in health industry call the double AMC, which is short for Association of American Medical Colleges. That estimable organization found its way to Dupont Circle in 1969, after dozing for nearly a century in drowsy Evanston, far from action and as far from mint. The move symbolized medical schools' new status in America: they had become a national issue and were fast becoming a national ward. In opinion of someDr. Howard Levy, for example, a staff analyst for reform-minded Health Policy Advisory Centerthe AAMC is the single most powerful health lobby in Washington/' The estimate seems a bit strong considering that group must compete for championship with more experienced big-letter lobbies like American Medical Association ( AMA) and Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA); but it is true that AAMC people spend a lot of fruitful time in congressional corridors and hearing rooms. It is also true that many of our medical schools of late have become addicted to that most potent of institutional drugs, federal appropriation, and that they generally rely on AAMC's capitol efforts to support their habit. At first new federal subsidies seemed to