What: Realizing Health Reform’s Potential Webinar: Adults Ages 50 to 64 and the Affordable Care Act
When: Thursday, January 6, at 2 p.m., E.T.
Download the presentations at left. View the archived webinar .
Speakers:
- Richard G. Frank, Ph.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability, Aging, and Long-Term Care Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- John Rother, J.D., Executive Vice President of Policy, Strategy, and International Affairs, AARP
- Sara R. Collins, Ph.D., Vice President, Affordable Health Insurance, The Commonwealth Fund
- Michelle M. Doty, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President and Director of Survey Research, The Commonwealth Fund
This webinar, cosponsored by AARP and Women in Government, was part of a series on realizing health reform's potential. Speakers looked at the unique problems facing men and women between the ages of 50 and 64, and how the Affordable Care Act will help ensure that baby boomers who lose employer health benefits—whether as a result of a layoff or early retirement—have ready access to affordable and comprehensive insurance.
Beginning in 2014, up to 6.8 million of the 8.6 million baby boomers who were uninsured in 2009 may gain subsidized insurance through Medicaid or the new insurance exchanges. Southern and western states, which have higher-than-average uninsured rates for this group, will see particularly large gains. The webinar addressed these benefits, as well as lesser-known aspects of the health reform law that go into effect before 2014, such as the new long-term care insurance program and the early retiree reinsurance program.