In response to the intense politicization of American healthcare over the past two decades carried out by powerful trade groups and lobbyists, a small group of physicians and professors began discussing the role they play in the regulations defining the future of patient care. This soon evolved into a larger discussion, growing to include the wider base of healthcare industry professionals including nurses, administrators, and researchers. While their ideas and outlook for the future of the industry differed, they remained like-minded in their primary motivation — to provide better treatment for Americans. In 2015, with funding secured from angel investors, the American Health Council was formed to provide a formal platform for healthcare professionals to congregate, and exchange ideas in an effort to push them forward. The initial round of funding was used to open the AHC’s primary headquarters in New York which would house a team of Affiliate Liaisons in an effort to expand the size and reach of the Council. Since 2016, the AHC has grown steadily, welcoming Affiliates in all 50 states from both rural and metropolitan areas. Many Affiliates utilize professional services provided by the organization enabling them to distribute research work, extend social outreach, discover mentoring opportunities, and collaborate for legislative change. Through offering these services to the constituency, the AHC has since been able to sustain its operations and grow completely self-funded. Self-funding is a critical part of the AHC’s vision for its success. By eliminating the influence of outside parties and groups, the Council is able to serve the interests of its Affiliates unadulterated. Affiliates of the American Health Council are grouped into Advisory Boards based upon specialty. These Advisory Boards serve as the breeding ground where new ideas come to fruition, and the impact of external events are assessed. Umbrellaed under the greater Council, these Advisory Boards then collaborate with one another to advance their initiatives cross-specialty. Affiliate input enables the AHC to serve as a channel in determining what concerns are of the greatest importance to healthcare industry professionals, and in providing those from all areas of healthcare the ability to work with one another in tackling these issues. In building an organization representative of all professional participants — of all levels of experience and spanning generations — and doing so self-sufficiently, the American Health Council hopes to provide healthcare professionals with an influential voice in the decisions that affect patient treatment in America.
