The moment Dr. Bobby Mukkamala had envisioned for a year was drawing near.
It was June 7 and the Flint Township-based otolaryngologist (head and neck surgeon), along with roughly 1,000 other esteemed medical professionals, filled a room inside Chicago’s Hyatt Regency hotel for the American Medical Association’s annual House of Delegates meeting.
During the previous year’s meeting, Mukkamala had announced his intention to seek the office of AMA President-Elect, who becomes president after serving in that role for 12 months.
No others had declared their candidacy for the position, but the window to do so was still open when Dr. Louito Edje, a University of Michigan Medical School Senior Associate Dean, stepped forward to deliver a speech formally nominating Mukkamala.
The two have been friends since their undergraduate days at U of M in the early 1990s.
“Bobby is the real deal, a great man who does ‘good’ well,” Edje told those gathered. “I look forward to the good he will do well for all of us. With great respect and tremendous admiration, I ask for your vote for my dear friend Dr. Bobby Mukkamala to be our next president-elect of the AMA.”
Mukkamala then endured a tense moment when AMA House of Delegates speaker Dr. Lisa Bohman Egbert, an obstetrician-gynecologist from Dayton, OH asked if there were any further nominations for the office.
The room remained silent.
“Seeing none,” Egbert acknowledged. “Would you please join me in electing Dr. Bobby Mukkamala as your president-elect.”
A 30-second standing ovation followed before Mukkamala began his acceptance speech, paying tribute to parents AppaRao and Sumathi, who immigrated to the United States in 1970, the year before Bobby was born.
They both practiced medicine in Flint for decades. His father’s career included serving as Hurley Medical Center’s chair of radiology. His mother was a Hurley pediatrician.
“They (my parents) and their generation came to this country, knowing nobody, to serve as physicians when our country needed them and at the same time, learn a culture that was completely foreign to them,” Mukkamala said. “It is upon their shoulders that I stand. To them, to all of you and to my wife Nita, my partner for life, I say thank you and hope to make you forever proud of the confidence you have placed in me today.”
Applause rang out as Bobby and Nita, an obstetrician-gynecologist who shares an office with her husband, embraced. AMA House of Delegates vice speaker John Armstrong, a professor of surgery at the University of South Florida, then rose from his seat, initiating a second standing ovation as Egbert blew a kiss in the Mukkamalas’ direction.
“When Dr. Egbert announced it was a unanimous ballot and I was AMA president-elect while the whole room was clapping and I was smiling, it was an exciting culmination of the past year,” Mukkamala says. “I’m so excited to begin three years of working in such an important leadership role to help take on challenges and make the healthcare system better for both medical professionals
and their patients.”
Edje is equally elated, but hardly surprised by AMA delegates’ resounding endorsement of Mukkamala.
“ I’ve always been motivated to go beyond the practice of medicine to serve the medical community as a whole and improve our ability to deliver care.“
“Those of us who know Bobby knew it would just be a matter of time before the greater medical community recognized he was born to lead and it’s sheer excitement about the future of medicine with him at the helm,” she says. “He connects by conveying confidence that you are seen and communicates with a clarity and ease that come from a core of deep knowledge of issues, driven by curiosity and fortified by his equally deep humanity. He also collaborates with those who have a like mind, and those who do not, for the best possible outcomes.”
Mukkamala has been active in the AMA, the nation’s largest physician organization, since his residency at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago and received its Excellence in Medicine Leadership Award in 2009.
That same year, he was elected to the AMA’s Council on Science and Public Health and served as its chair from 2016 to 2017, before being elected to the AMA Board of Trustees in 2017 and 2021. Mukkamala will continue serving as chair of the AMA Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force.
While those national accolades alone make for an impressive resume, Mukkamala has also served in various state and local leadership roles, including as a member of the Michigan State Medical Society Board of Directors since 2011. He has been the board’s chair and its president at various times.
Locally, Mukkamala is a past president of the Genesee County Medical Society (2010-11) and continues to serve on the GCMS Board of Directors. His father was GCMS president in 1994-95.
None of those roles quite compare to the AMA presidency, however.
“Certainly, this is the most humbling honor of my career, especially to be elected by my peers from coast to coast to be the face of the AMA,” Mukkamala says.
“I only had 90 seconds to give my ‘thank you’ speech but made sure to thank my parents for making it possible for me to live the American dream. I’ve always been motivated to go beyond the practice of medicine to serve the medical community as a whole and improve our ability to deliver care.”
Mukkamala transitions from president-elect to a one-year term as AMA president in June of next year. That will be followed by one year as past president, filling in for the new AMA president as needed.
“We need more transparency, so patients don’t end up with big bills they never expected and even physicians can become confused in our current system.“
“I can expect between 100-200 speaking engagements a year, but I’ll still retain some flexibility, allowing me to continue seeing patients and handling emergency situations,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to having an even greater voice to address major issues facing the medical community and have meaningful discussions about how to improve them.”
Those issues include reforming Medicare physician payments and easing the burden of prior authorization.
“I probably saw about 40 patients today and many of them will require prior authorization before beginning treatment,” said Mukkamala not long after seeing his final patient one day in early July. “The time my staff and I have to spend trying to secure authorization is not very efficient. Also, Medicare payments are going in the wrong direction, which can make it difficult to hire quality staff and run an effective practice because operational costs have increased by about 20% in recent years, so we need a payment system that makes sense.”
Reducing physician burnout, mitigating surprise billing and a greater emphasis on preventative care are also part of Mukkamala’s agenda.
“We need more transparency, so patients don’t end up with big bills they never expected and even physicians can become confused in our current system,” Mukkamala says. “A study last year showed that about 60% of medical professionals have experienced burnout and that number must be reduced to retain quality physicians. More investment in preventative measures like pre-diabetes testing and hypertension treatment is important to address potential problems early.”
Count Dr. Edje among those thankful that Mukkamala will be leading the charge on critical healthcare concerns.
“With the intersection of politics and medicine today on issues like state rights legislation directly impacting patient care and physician workforce demographics, we need a leader like Bobby who can navigate with principle and keep the sanctity of the patient physician relationship at the center of discourse,” she says.
As if his thriving practice and heavy involvement in medical organizations do not already constitute a full plate, Mukkamala has always engaged in community activism. He played a significant role in Flint’s response to its water crisis as chair of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, focusing on funding to address the effects of lead in children.
He has also worked in various capacities with the Crim Fitness Foundation, United Way and Big Brothers Big Sisters, and volunteers with the Health Occupations Student Association at Powers Catholic High School, his alma mater.
In 2012, the Mukkamalas established the Bobby Mukkamala and Nita Kulkarni Health Professions Scholarship which supports U of M-Flint students pursuing health care careers.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mukkamala and son Nikhil, then a biomechanical engineering student at the University of Michigan, used a dozen 3D printers he had purchased to donate to Flint schools to produce N95-equivalent masks in their living room for medical workers. Governor Gretchen Whitmer honored them with a COVID-19 Governor’s Service Award.
Nikhil is now a biomechanical engineer in Arlington, VA while twin brother Deven is a PhD candidate in political philosophy at Duke University.
Away from medicine, Mukkamala’s happy places are on the run with his Crim training group as well as tinkering with and driving his extensive car collection. The fleet includes a 1947 American LaFrance fire engine and the actual 1986 Ferrari Testarossa driven by actor Don Johnson’s character (Sonny Crockett) in later seasons of the iconic 1980s TV series, “Miami Vice.”
At times, the outpouring of congratulations Mukkamala has received after being named the first AMA president-elect from Michigan since East Lansing preventative medicine specialist Ron Davis in 2006, has overwhelmed him.
“All the congratulatory notes sent my way, some from people I didn’t realize were following my career as closely, have been very touching,” he shares. “It’s very humbling to have their confidence. Some I’ve heard from did not realize all the issues the AMA is working on or are not even AMA members but have expressed interest in becoming one. I’m thankful my election has already had a positive effect.”
Mukkamala certainly has the confidence of Dr. Mark Komorowski, the current Michigan State Medical Society President.
“Dr. Mukkamala demonstrated a remarkable ability to navigate complex health issues, advocate for physicians, and implement meaningful policies,” he says. “His ability to connect with patients and physicians, understanding their challenges, and then effectively advocate on their behalf is unmatched. I’m confident Dr. Mukkamala’s experience and vision will guide the AMA toward a future where healthcare is more accessible, efficient and supportive for both providers and patients.”
