How Will Consumers Navigate New Health Care Options? Briefing and Panel Discussion

With the open enrollment period for health insurance exchanges less than six months away, consumers are already asking questions about their new health care options under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Even in the age of digital information, hands-on consumer assistance could play a key role in helping people understand their insurance choices come 2014 — a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll showed that two thirds of the uninsured and a majority of Americans overall say they have too little information to know how the ACA will affect them. On Thursday, April 18 at 9:30 am ET, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation hosted a forum to examine what consumers are already asking about their new health coverage options; what progress states are making and challenges they are facing to develop consumer assistance plans; and what role the federal government and other private sector entities might play in order to help consumers navigate the new health care landscape. Speakers:
  • Elisabeth Benjamin, Vice President of Health Initiatives at the Community Service Society (NY)
  • Kathleen Gmeiner, Project Director, Universal Health Care Access Network of Ohio
  • Lori Grubstein, Program Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
  • Nancy Metcalf, Health Editor at Consumer Reports Magazine
  • Karen Pollitz, Senior Fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation
  • Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters
Podcast (mp3)

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The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.