FLINT, Mich. — A Flint doctor is making history as the first Indian American to lead the American Medical Association—bringing a local perspective to the national organization.
Dr. Bobby Mukkamala’s inauguration, on June 10, 2025, comes just six months after he underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor, giving him a unique perspective as both doctor and patient.
His parents immigrated from India to Pittsburgh then Flint and completed their medical residencies at Hurley Medical Center. As a child, he played on the grounds where the hospital’s emergency department now stands.
“To go from that exposure to medicine as a kid on the playground of a hospital that I think is wonderful, to now being in a position to improve healthcare … is just an amazing evolution of that early experience as a kid,” he said.
Mukkamala, who earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Michigan and trained in Chicago, returned to Flint in 2000 to begin his practice. As AMA president, he said he plans to advocate for reforms that prioritize patient care over profit and to elevate the voices of physicians in shaping healthcare policy.
He said one of the AMA’s key roles is to bring patient stories to lawmakers.
“Flint is such an excellent example of the things that are good about our country and the things that we need to improve in our country,” he said. “Everything is something we experience in Flint. It’s not like I’m miles away from an issue that we’re dealing with.”
Mukkamala is critical of what he calls a revenue-driven system that often sidelines physician input and fails to reward preventative care. He believes hospitals, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies have little financial incentive to keep people healthy, and that physician burnout is becoming a nationwide crisis.
He compared the careers of his parents, who practiced into their 70s, with many current doctors who are considering early retirement.
“Every day, I hear at least a few patients say, ‘They’re not my doctor anymore.’ That used to rarely happen,” he said.
His own experience as a patient has deepened his understanding of patient frustrations. After ordering lab tests for years as a physician, he recently spent 30 minutes waiting at a lab where staff couldn’t find his faxed order, despite confirmation from his provider. That frustration, he said, is just one of many small but significant obstacles patients face daily.
Mukkamala believes the system needs improvements not just in quality but in accessibility. Whether it’s labs, insurance companies, or hospitals, he said, “every part of the system needs work.” His dual role as both a caregiver and a patient fuels his determination to be a voice for change.
When asked about the legacy he hopes to leave, Mukkamala said he aims to uplift Flint and strengthen physicians’ voices in shaping national healthcare policy.
“I want to leave a Flint community that’s a little further in the right direction,” he said, recalling what he calls the city’s decline in the 1980s and his efforts to support its revitalization after returning in 2000. He envisions a future where Flint’s next generation is proud and excited to stay or come back, not out of necessity, but by choice.
He also hopes to help move the country from the bottom of health rankings toward the middle.
At the national level, Mukkamala said his goal is to ensure physicians are seen not as “pawns in a chess game,” but as leaders in improving the nation’s health.
“We spend plenty on health care, right? $5 trillion and yet we rank pretty low, and that’s despite physicians being involved,” he said. “[I want us] to be better because physicians are involved.”
Beyond his drive to create positive change, the doctor added, “It’s an honor, and I’m proud to be the Flint guy.”
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