Regis College hosts lecture on Affordable Care Act’s impact on health care

Staff Writer
Wicked Local
Regis College’s panelists for the most recent President’s Lecture Series on Health titled "Transforming Healthcare: Healthcare Reform and Beyond." Courtesy Photo

WESTON — On the sixth anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act law on March 23, Regis College convened a panel of leading healthcare experts to discuss the impact of the law in a forum titled "Transforming Healthcare: Healthcare Reform and Beyond."

The four panelists, Barbara Anthony, James Roosevelt Jr., Renée Markus Hodin and Secretary Marylou Sudders, spoke to the perspectives of insurance companies, government agencies and consumers. The conversation included a range of topics but came back to cost control and enabling consumers to make conscious decisions about their health care.

Realizing that consumers want to understand prices better, but are largely unaware of resources that exist under state laws mandating online cost estimator tools, Anthony created a website at getthedealoncare.org that helps consumers find their health insurance's online cost estimator.

Roosevelt Jr. addressed the complicated health care system, noting that health care can be simpler if possibilities are apparent and encouraged the audience to think about how the outcome of the current presidential election will affect health care laws, particularly the ACA.

Sudders focused on population health and spoke to the increasing demand for public insurance plans, such as MassHealth, which now includes single, nondisabled adults. Her goal is to continue to maintain a strong MassHealth program and commitment to improving member experience.

Markus Hodin, deputy director at the Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation at Community Catalyst, a national nonprofit consumer advocacy agency, shared the consumer perspective on healthcare reform and current costs. According to Roosevelt, one reason the price of healthcare is so high is that physicians and professional level providers are paid 100 percent more than they are in other countries. Ballooning pharmaceuticals is another reason for high costs.

The forum, moderated by Regis President Antoinette Hays, drew in a crowd of over 200 people ranging from nurses and social workers to students and interested citizens. Nurse Kathleen Deleskey from Burlington came to Regis to learn specifically about this interesting and timely topic.

The Regis President’s Lecture Series on Health, which offers free contact hours for nurses, social workers and radiologic technologists, was established in 2007 by former President Dr. Mary Jane England, and is hosted in partnership with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. The series of lectures is designed to challenge the community to develop new skills to build awareness of contemporary health and wellness issues and learn to effect positive change.

The next discussion of another timely topic, “Pandemic Infections/Ebola/Enterovirus/Measles” will take place April 20. To register, visit registowertalk.net/pd.