Though they had tried for years to advance a resolution calling on the organization to drop its decades-long opposition to single-payer health care, this was the first time it got a full hearing. The debate grew heated — older physicians warned their pay would decrease, calling younger advocates naïve to single-payer's consequences. But this time, by the meeting's end, the AMA's older members had agreed to at least study the possibility of changing its stance.

"We believe health care is a human right, maybe more so than past generations," said Dr. Brad Zehr, a 29-year-old pathology resident at Ohio State University, who was part of the debate. "There's a generational shift happening, where we see universal health care as a requirement."