An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back

by Elisabeth Rosenthal

Surgeons are not the only group of doctors watering down their moral commitments. The American Medical Association’s code of ethics has been similarly diluted. Through the 1960s and 1970s it said that physicians’ fees “should be commensurate with the services rendered and the patient’s ability to pay” (emphasis mine). But this latter exhortation did not survive into the 1980s.

Surgeons are not the only group of doctors watering down their moral commitments. The American Medical Association’s code of ethics has been similarly diluted. Through the 1960s and 1970s it said that physicians’ fees “should be commensurate with the services rendered and the patient’s ability to pay” (emphasis mine). But this latter exhortation did not survive into the 1980s.