Alliance for Health Reform to brief reporters on the hurdles to a meaningful health reform bill

Sep 3 2009

The following media event was announced today by the Alliance for Health Reform:

WHEN: Thursday, September 3, 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. (Lunch available at noon)

WHERE: Holeman Lounge, National Press Club

SPONSORED BY: Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

CONTACT: Bill Erwin 202/789-2300

A briefing for reporters only. Of interest to congressional, political and health care reporters.

For some on Capitol Hill and in the White House, we're just around the corner from a Rose Garden signing ceremony for health reform. But for others, that day seems far away.

Both camps agree: Significant disagreements remain that must be worked out if health reform is to become law. Will there be a public plan option or, as an alternative, health insurance co-ops? How will reform be financed? Can the "cost curve" be bent, either during or after the 10-year window that's the focus of Congressional Budget Office "scoring"? How might Medicare change - or facilitate change - in a reformed system? How will reform affect employers, especially small businesses?

This briefing, for reporters only, will look at some of the important issues that must be settled if President Obama is to sign a meaningful health reform bill this year. Speakers will be: Gail Wilensky of Project HOPE, former chairman of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and former administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (now Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services); Dallas Salisbury, president and CEO of the Employee Benefit Research Institute; and Ken Thorpe, chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management, Emory University. Ed Howard of the Alliance will moderate, along with Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which is cosponsoring the briefing. As usual with our Press Club events, we will allow as much time as possible for questions and answers.