2025 IMA Annual Conference Insights and What Comes Next

Speakers: Dr. Ryan Cole, Dr. Kat Lindley, Dr. Chris Martenson, Dr. Joseph Varon

“I felt like I went to a large family gathering—with family members I actually like.”
— Dr. Joseph Varon

In a time when science and medicine often feel cold and impersonal, the Independent Medical Alliance’s recent conference felt like the opposite: a vibrant, purpose-driven reunion. The doctors didn’t just review policy and research—they modeled what healthcare can be when integrity, courage, and community are at its core.

If you missed the event, this webinar offers more than a recap. It’s a signal flare from the front lines of medicine, capturing where the IMA is headed and why now is the time to speak up, take action, and reimagine care.

Key Takeaways from the Conference

Ask anybody who has ever been to an IMA (formerly FLCCC) conference, and they’ll tell you the same thing: an IMA Conference doesn’t feel like a clinical event — it feels like home. Granted, it’s a new home none of us expected five years ago, but now that we’re here, we wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Attendees bonded over a shared mission: restoring health freedom, reforming broken systems, and advocating for patient-centered care. People want to know: what will IMA—this incredible group of doctors and advocates that showed us the light through COVID, cancer, and so much else—do to help reshape healthcare across the world?

The urgency of the moment was described by Dr. Ryan Cole as a “tight window of opportunity” to enact meaningful policy change and bring science and advocacy together. That sense of mission and momentum infused every session.

Four Pillars of the IMA Policy Platform

One of the major unveilings at the conference was IMA’s official four-pillar policy framework. These pillars aren’t just theoretical—they reflect the areas of healthcare where we believe IMA can help spark the most meaningful change. They serve as a blueprint for both grassroots action and high-level legislative work aimed at fixing what’s most broken in modern medicine.

1. Combating Chronic Disease
2. Patient Empowerment
3. Transparency in Medicine
4. Building a Healthy Culture

1. Combating Chronic Disease

Six in ten adults in the U.S. have a chronic disease. Four in ten have two or more. Chronic conditions are now the leading causes of death and disability in America, with heart disease and cancer alone accounting for nearly 40% of all annual deaths.

It’s safe to say we have a chronic disease crisis. IMA is committed to helping solve it.

“Outputs depend on inputs. Chronic disease is the outcome of a society that’s been given bad inputs over a long period of time.”
— Dr. Ryan Cole

Here’s how IMA approaches the problem:

• Emphasis on root causes over symptom management
• Advocacy for integrative and preventative care approaches
• Encouraging a return to personalized care over one-size-fits-all treatment

2. Patient Empowerment

At its heart, this pillar is about restoring the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship. In today’s system, too many patients are sidelined, left with little understanding of their care or control over their options.

“I always tell my patient, I’m not here to tell you what to do. I can lead you to the water—you still have to drink. I’m here to be a cheerleader, a guide, and the rest is up to you.”
— Dr. Kat Lindley

IMA is advancing empowerment through:

• Promoting the patient-doctor relationship as a partnership
• Supporting direct access to care and expanded Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
• Educating patients to ask informed questions and make their own choices

3. Transparency in Medicine

Behind many of the failures of the COVID era lies a deeper problem: the suppression of open scientific debate. Transparency is the antidote.

IMA is pushing for:

• Exposing the lack of data sharing and scientific censorship
• Fighting for informed consent in all medical interventions
• Supporting alternative medical journals and data access

4. Building a Healthy Culture

Chronic disease and despair don’t exist in a vacuum—they’re symptoms of a sick culture. IMA believes real health reform must start with lifestyle, nutrition, and community.

IMA is focused on:

• Advocating lifestyle and nutrition reform, not just prescriptions
• Supporting community health models, regenerative agriculture, and spiritual wellbeing
• Shifting cultural norms around medicine and wellness

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Featured Topics & Standout Panels

IMA 2025 featured several panels that audiences loved. While we are working hard behind the scenes to get the video recordings published, here are some standouts to give you a sneak preview of what’s coming soon:

Gender Transition and Informed Consent

Dr. Kat Lindley led a powerful panel on the medical, social, and ethical consequences of transitioning minors. Physicians and scholars addressed the lack of informed consent, the psychological toll, and the social pressure placed on families. The discussion was frank, respectful, and data-driven—the kind of conversation few venues allow today.

Combating Chronic Disease: A Systems Approach

This panel emphasized that chronic illness is the inevitable result of poor inputs—food, stress, lifestyle, and environment. Experts called for a return to whole foods, spiritual grounding, movement, and community, with Dr. Cole and Dr. Malone highlighting the healing potential of growing your own food and reconnecting to the earth.

Farming, Food Systems, and Freedom

Speakers explored the link between agriculture, autonomy, and wellness. The takeaway: a nation with a broken food supply cannot be healthy—or free.

Partner Organizations Panel

Representatives from Epoch Times, Brownstone Institute, Children’s Health Defense, Peak Prosperity, and others joined forces to discuss media integrity, medical freedom, and collaboration. All panelists had “put everything on the line” in the pursuit of truth. The session ended with a call to courage.

Policy Work: Real Momentum

From high-level access to boots-on-the-ground advocacy, IMA’s policy arm is in motion—and gaining traction. The conference made it clear that this is not just a vision. It’s happening now.

White House Access & Advocacy

IMA fellows have already briefed the administration on key issues, including bird flu and vaccine policy. Those efforts are opening doors to influence decisions on pandemic preparedness, public messaging, and health freedom.

Behind the scenes, work is also underway to support independent medical practice, repeal or reform harmful elements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and exiting the World Health Organization (WHO).

Legislation in Progress

The policy team is actively supporting or advising on bills that address urgent areas of concern:

• Expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) – led by Chip Roy, Ted Cruz, and Mike Lee
• Increasing compensation and legal recognition for vaccine injury
• Advancing direct primary care and catastrophic coverage models to replace rigid, insurer-driven systems

What’s Next for IMA?

Looking ahead, IMA is building on the energy of the conference, with several big moves already underway.

1. Scaling the Fellowship Program
   The Senior Fellows are a driving force behind research, panels, and policy—and are now a cohesive, formidable team working across specialties.
2. Expanding Patient Resources
   Expect more guides, webinars, and patient-focused tools to empower people in their own care journeys.
3. Legislative Action
   IMA is strategically positioned to influence legislation at the state and federal level, particularly within the current administration.
4. Growing Our Medical Journal
   The Journal of Independent Medicine has launched, with its 2nd issue coming in May, promising to bring even more unbiased medical research to the forefront.

Let’s Get to Work!

The conference served as both a reunion and a rallying cry. IMA’s leadership is clear-eyed about the challenges ahead, but optimistic—because the movement is growing, the evidence is strong, and the window to make meaningful change is open. And we’re not going to miss it.

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