The National Medical Association (NMA) is a professional and scientific organization that seeks to improve the quality of health for racial/ethnic minorities, medically underserved populations, and other groups of disadvantaged people. The NMA does so through the use of health education, original research, political lobbying, professional development, and interorganizational collaboration. As a result of these efforts, the NMA emerged during the 1950s as a leader in establishing equal admission policies for African American medical students, the formation of the United States' Medicare and Medicaid programs, and the desegregation of hospital facilities. Although the NMA was founded to promote the specific interests of African Americans, its contemporary philosophy incorporates all racial/ethnic groups.

The NMA was established in 1895, making it the United States' oldest organization to represent ...