(Lincolnshire, IL) September 14, 2012 – Close to 100 people attended an Obamacare forum on Tuesday in Lincolnshire featuring an expert panel of medical professionals. The event was hosted by the Tenth Congressional District Democrats, a grassroots organization that helps mobilize and inform voters. The Tenth Dems University panel (the group’s lecture series that features prominent speakers) was devoted to an examination of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the groundbreaking healthcare reform law known as Obamacare.
Aimed at correcting myths about the law and showcasing the positive effects the Affordable Care Act will have on everyday Americans, the panel was moderated by Dr. Mark Rosenberg and included three distinguished medical professionals.
Dr. Mark Rosenberg is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He has a Masters Degree from Loyola University in Healthcare Ethics. He is an advocate for improved access and quality healthcare for all of America’s children.
The Panelists
Dr. Ram Krishnamoorthi, MD, MPH, is a representative for Doctors for America, a non-profit organization made up of physicians and medical students working for quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans.
Michael L. Millenson is the President of Health Quality Advisors, LLC, and a nationally recognized expert on quality of care improvement and patient-centered healthcare delivery. He is a former health reporter for the Chicago Tribune and author of the critically acclaimed book, Demanding Medical Excellence: Doctors and Accountability in the Information Age.
Jillian Phillips is the Chicago-area organizer for the Campaign for Better Healthcare, Illinois’ largest healthcare advocacy coalition. CBHC has been working for comprehensive health reform at the state level since 1989.
The panel addressed a variety of issues of concern to citizens in Illinois, including incentives built into the Affordable Care Act to encourage preventive care plans for both women and men by insurance companies, to increase accountability for doctors, hospitals, and medical providers, as well as to build a standardized exchange of understandable insurance plans that provide a baseline of care for the American people. Central to the discussion was the idea of patient-centered care – care in which those being treated would have a clear voice in their relationship with their doctors, thus encouraging doctors to improve their practices to better serve those they care for.
Hon. Lauren Beth Gash, chair of the Tenth Congressional District Democrats, stressed the importance of getting the word out about the Affordable Care Act at the close of the panel discussion: “We start by talking to you,” she told the attendees, “and then you talk to your friends and neighbors about what this important legislation will do to improve peoples’ lives.”
