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Round table Discussion on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Health Equity

Round Table: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Health Equity

The purpose of this intimate gathering is to offer discussion from experts in the area of health and health disparities on the potential impact of the PPACA in eliminating health disparities.   As we celebrate the third anniversary of the historic change to health care, it is important to consider how the PPACA specifically will address health equity in part by reducing health disparities, particularly in cancer.   While the act increases access to services, it is not access alone that will ameliorate the current state of health care.   What will the PPACA mean in advancing health equity?

Discussants:

• Dr. David Satcher, former Surgeon General and professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Family Practice at the Morehouse School of Medicine 
• Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer, American Cancer Society
• Dr. Flavia Mercado, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine 
• Medical Director of the Department of Multicultural Affairs and the International Medical Center, Grady Health System
• Moderator, Judy Fortin, American Cancer Society  

Click Here to View Webcast

The Affordable Care Act will help reduce disparities by making improvements in:

• Preventive care.  Medicare and some private insurance plans will cover recommended like regular check-ups, cancer screenings, and immunizations at no additional cost to eligible people. (http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/rights/preventive-care/index.html)
• Coordinated care.  The law calls for new investments in community health teams to manage chronic disease. This is important, because minority communities experience higher rates of illness and death for chronic diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, and cancer.  Because infant mortality and post-birth complications are also higher in minority and low-income groups, the law includes new funds for home visits for expectant mothers and newborns. 
• Diversity and cultural competency.  The Affordable Care Act expands initiatives to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the health care professions.  It also strengthens cultural competency training for all health care providers.  Health plans will be required to use language services and community outreach in underserved communities. Improving communications between providers and patients will help address health disparities particularly in Hispanic communities, which currently have high numbers of uninsured people.
• Health care providers for underserved communities.  The Affordable Care Act and increases funding for community health centers, which provide comprehensive health care for everyone no matter how much they are able to pay. Health centers serve an estimated one in three low-income people and one in four low-income minority residents.  The new resources will enable health centers to double the number of patients they serve. Combined with investments made by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the new law will support 16,000 new primary care providers.
• Ending insurance discrimination.  Insurance discrimination will be banned, so people who have been sick can’t be excluded from coverage or charged higher premiums.  Women will no longer have to pay higher premiums because of their gender. New funding will be available to collect information on how women and racial and ethnic minorities experience the health care system, leading to improvements that will benefit these groups.
• Affordable insurance coverage.  A new health insurance marketplace will be created in 2014.  These new health insurance Exchanges will offer one-stop shopping so individuals can compare prices, benefits, and health plan performance on easy-to-use websites. The Exchanges will guarantee that all people have a choice for quality, affordable health insurance even if a job loss, job switch, move, or illness occurs. The new law also provides tax credits to help more Americans pay for insurance.
• Improved and refined data collection to help identify health disparities The Affordable Care Act improves health data collection and analysis strategy on disparities. Section 4302 of the Affordable Care Act contains provisions to strengthen federal data collection efforts by requiring that all health surveys sponsored by HHS include standardized information on race, ethnicity, sex, primary language and disability status. The law also provides HHS the opportunity to collect additional demographic data to further improve our understanding of health care disparities. In June, HHS announced a progression plan to begin collecting health data on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.

MSM in the News 2013