Delegate Donna M. Christensen will lead a presentation and panel discussion on health equity and the Affordable Care Act on Friday as the Congressional Black Caucus holds its 43rd annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
The CBC Health Braintrust will convene the daylong event, titled “Achieving Health Equity After The Affordable Care Act: Stories of Success, Lessons Learned and Current Challenges,” at the Washington Convention Center beginning at 9 a.m.
A morning presentation will focus on the role of the African-American health care providers who will discuss the successes and challenges they have experienced since the passage and enactment of the Affordable Care Act. The presentation, titled “The Role of the African-American Provider in ACA Access Expansion Efforts and Beyond,” will also explore the need to educate, train and engage African-American health care providers in the health policy making process.
Other presentations will focus on recommendations of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, mental health, post-ACA reimbursement and payment policies, and the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2013.
During the luncheon presentation, a representative of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation will present a new report on income, assets and home equity among current and future generations of white, black and Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries.
Christensen said she and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus worked to ensure that the Affordable Care Act included meaningful and thoughtful efforts to elimination health disparity and include health equity provisions in the law. The Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama in March 2010.
“Our efforts paid off and, with the passage of the ACA, we finally have the opportunity to make affordable, high quality health insurance coverage a reality for the un- and underinsured across the country and our territories,” Christensen said. “While there has been success with the implementation of provisions of the law, there are still some challenges we hope to identify during these sessions and work together to address.”
The CBC Health Braintrust held a series of educational town halls across the nation to increase awareness of the ACA in minority communities. Themed “Making Good Health MY Reality,” the town halls kicked off in July on St. Croix and continued until Sept. 14, with stops in Chicago, Oakland, Dallas, Brooklyn, Baltimore and Las Vegas, providing information and resources to ensure access to health care coverage and benefits that are available because of the Affordable Care Act law.
“Touting the benefits of the Affordable Care Act is bittersweet because the territories do not have the equity with the states that we fought for,” Christensen added. “But we nonetheless celebrate the many advances it did provide and that Virgin Islanders and residents of the other territories are enjoying.”
More information on the CBC Health Braintrust agenda is online at http://www.cbchealthbraintrust.org.
