Communicating Health Care Reform: Why Don’t People get It?
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010, is the most significant health reform legislation since Medicare and Medicaid, both passed in the 1960s. Many provisions in the law are now being implemented, but despite months of debate, there remains widespread confusion and misperception regarding this wide-ranging and complex law. Provisions in ACA include health insurance regulatory reform, coverage expansion, quality initiatives, incentives for primary care and prevention, and payment innovations.
Communicating Health Care Reform: Why Don’t People Get It? featured a keynote address by Dr. Karen Davis, President of The Commonwealth Fund, highlighting features of the legislation and how they relate to a high performance health care system. Dr. Davis was joined by other policy experts for a panel discussion that addressed the impact of the legislation on key stakeholders and how provisions in the law affect the public, the health care system, and health care providers. The panel also explored how public uncertainty and confusion surrounding the law evolved over the course of national debate and entertained questions from the audience.
Keynote Address: Karen Davis
Expert Panel Discussion
