Bobby Mukkamala Wins Election, Named President-Elect Of American Medical Association

Photo: AMA

India-West News Desk

CHICAGO, IL – The American Medical Association’s (AMA) at its annual meeting, voted Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, an otolaryngologist from Flint, Michigan, as its president-elect. He will succeed Dr. Bruce Scott, who was inaugurated as AMA president on June 11.

Mukkamala will serve a one-year term as president-elect before assuming the role of president. One of his top priorities as future AMA president is to increase physician supply in the US. He advocates adding international medical graduates to the workforce and fostering the growth of U.S.-educated doctors. He emphasizes the need to increase residency slots to address the shortage and is an advocate for shorter acclimation periods for internationally trained physicians to practice in the US.

He knows something about foreign medical graduates. Born to immigrant physicians, Dr. Bobby Mukkamala in his “acceptance” speech when he was declared the president-elect, thanked his parents and family saying, “They were quite literally the shoulders I stood on when I was growing up.” They and their generation came to this country, “knowing nobody,” he said, to practice medicine at a time when the country needed them and at the same time absorb a culture alien to them.

During his term, he said, he aims to address several critical issues facing the medical profession, including reforming Medicare physician pay, reducing the burden of prior authorization, and mitigating physician burnout.

Bobby Mukkamala stated, “It is a turbulent time to be a physician in this country.” “Challenges like an unsustainable Medicare payment system, excessive prior authorization, and physician burnout have put our health system in a precarious place. But the AMA is fighting these battles in Congress, in state capitals, and in our communities to achieve a better future where physicians can spend more time with their patients. My peers have honored me by choosing me as the AMA’s president-elect, and I am eager to continue fighting for better healthcare for all our communities.

The doctor’s involvement with the AMA dates back to his residency at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago. He is a trustee and currently chairs the AMA Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force, advocating for evidence-based policies to combat the nation’s overdose epidemic.

His dedication to medicine and public health was also evident in his work during the Flint water crisis, and during the pandemic.

Mukkamala participates actively in medical education and community service.Alongside his wife, Dr. Nita Kulkarni, an obstetrician-gynecologist, he established the Endowed Health Professions Scholarships at the University of Michigan, Flint. They have two adult children, Nikhil, a biomedical engineer, and Deven, a PhD candidate in political science.