Panel on Affordable Care Act to Convene on Campus

By Gustav Hollnagel–
Ever since President Obama was associated with the new health care plan, there has been a great debate over the benefits and pitfalls of universal health care. The ongoing ACA (Affordable Care Act) is supposed to bring tangible changes to the lives of all Americans.

Obama signed the ACA on March 23, 2010. Now that it has been almost a year, Morningside will host a panel discussion event to discuss the early stages and merits of the new health plan.

The panel will convene on March 20, 2011 at 6 pm. There will be five to six speakers on the panel, discussing their knowledge and experiences on the ACA. What are the benefits; what are the implementations; what is the overall importance?

Among the members of the panel will be a patient with pre-existing medical conditions, a medical doctor to speak more directly about the ACA, a student, and a small business owner to explain the effects the ACA has had on his business.

Reforms under the Affordable Care Act bring to an end some of the worst abuses of the insurance industry. They will also give Americans new rights and benefits, including helping more children get health coverage, ending lifetime and most annual limits on care, and allowing young adults under 26 to stay on their parent’s health insurance.

Many other new benefits of the law have taken effect, including 50 per cent discounts on brand name drugs for seniors who have Medicare tax credits for small business that provide insurance to employees.

This event is sponsored by OFA (Organizing for America) in correspondence with on-campus activists to raise awareness in the community and for young Americans.

Local TV stations KPTH and KCAU will come and record the event. These events are usually well attended. In January, there was a panel of four energy representatives who discussed the importance of tomorrow’s energy provision (see Powering Tomorrow).

Read about the upcoming changes in the next few years and research knowledge before the event on http://www.healthcare.gov/law/about/order/byyear.html.