Rep Tony Hwang & Healthcare Experts Talk Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

State Rep. Tony Hwang with Byron Campbell, (far left) Co-Partner, Firelight Media, Julie Rosenbaum, MD, Associate Professor at Yale University School of Medicine, (Hwang’s right) State Senator Kevin Kelly, Ranking Member of the Aging and Insurance Committees, Tim Tracy, Co-Founder, InsuringCT.com, Health Insurance Broker, Beverly Balaz, Executive Director, Fairfield Chamber of Commerce and (far right) Mickey Herbert, Interim CEO, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

FAIRFIELD – In what was hailed as an enlightening and informative event by all who attended, State Rep. Tony Hwang (R-134) hosted a panel discussion with healthcare experts and business leaders at Sacred Heart University on the Federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) & CT Healthcare Exchange.

Rep. Hwang moderated the expert panel in areas of healthcare, insurance and small business which was assembled to answer questions and share the possible impact and consequences on small businesses, the self-insured, independent contractors, senior citizens, and people with pre-existing conditions, state HUSKY participants and anyone who is currently uninsured.

A full capacity crowd peppered the panel with questions regarding the newly implemented healthcare law and its’ implication on their personal health insurance coverage and costs. Some of the questions were about the effect on Senior’s Medicare and supplemental insurance coverage, the role of employers and picking medical plans, individuals, self-employed and independent contractors and how ACA will affect their healthcare plan options. The expert panel offered many insightful perspectives and scenarios but stressed to the audience to read the details of each plan carefully and seek professional counsel because of local and regional complexities and coverage differences.

Rep Tony Hwang focused on the informational aspect of the forum emphasizing that, “Our role as elected leaders in our community is to inform and represent the interest and concerns of our constituency. It is critical and extremely important for our community to understand what these new healthcare programs mean for each citizen here in Connecticut. There will be an impact on everyone from the self-insured to senior citizens to small businesses. This forum is not platform to condemn or condone ACA (Obamacare). Our mission is to address issues and answer questions about healthcare and insurance coverage to help our resident navigate the confusing and emotional process of choosing and paying for their healthcare insurance.”

The participating panelists included:

Beverly Balaz articulated the interest and concerns of her membership on the Chamber of Commerce and reinforced the importance of such an informational outreach program, “my thanks to Rep. Hwang for arranging the panel meeting to explain the details of the Affordable Care Act which is so important to our community small business membership. The level of expertise with regard to the knowledge base on this subject was impressive, and as such, the Chamber, which acts as a resource for the small business community in Fairfield, appreciated the significant and valuable information that was discussed specific to small businesses!”

State Senator Kevin Kelly (R-21st), an expert on elder care law addressed Senior’s Medicare concerns. “Most seniors will not be directly impacted by the Affordable Care Act because they already have health coverage through Medicare, which remains a separate program. If you already have Medicare supplemental insurance policies are not available through the new health insurance exchange, so your coverage will stay the same.”

Kelly cautioned about some of the unintended consequences of healthcare reform, “The Affordable Care Act creates many new reforms whose purpose is to improve quality, increase access and reduce the cost of our healthcare. Unfortunately, when it comes to the most expensive area of healthcare, long-term care, the ACA falls short and does not bring us any closer to growing our local community-based health services, which offer less expensive and more effective forms of treatment and care at home, which is where we all want to be.”

Yale University Primary Care Residency faculty member, Julie Rosenbaum, MD offered healthcare provider perspective on the ACA beyond the cost and coverage concerns. “One of the major benefits of the Affordable Care Act is the emphasis on prevention, making it easier for people to get the care and information they need to stay out of the hospital. It is so important for physicians to be involved in the discussion about how to make our health care system more effective, affordable, and accessible.

The Forum on Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) & CT Healthcare Exchange was taped by Community Public Access Programming and refer to each respective websites for program listing times:

Trumbull Community Television – http://www.trumbullps.tv/index.htm
Fairfield FairTV – http://fairtvonline.org/vwSchedule/index.aspx
Soundview Community Media – http://www.soundviewtv.org/