AWB to host forum on health care reform


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	AWB to host forum on health care reform

	Written On: Thursday, November 10, 2011

	Written By: Jason Hagey

	Lawmakers, health care experts and a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial writer to discuss the federal law’s impact on Washington state OLYMPIA— On Tuesday, business owners and representatives from throughout the state can take part in an interactive forum addressing the latest developments in the rollout of the federal health care reform law, as well as discussion about where it may be headed. The national debate over how best to deliver and pay for health care in America hardly ended with last year’s passage of the law. If anything, it intensified. But Washington state officials aren’t waiting for the outcome of numerous court challenges to begin implementing it. Legislation has already passed to establish a state health insurance exchange and officials are beginning the work of designing an exchange. Many questions remain unanswered about how it will work and who will pay for it, leaving employers – long the primary provider of Americans’ health insurance –trying to sort out what it means for them. Speakers and session topics include: • Current Lay of the Land and Anticipating the Future, James Capretta, fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center (8:15 a.m.) • Health Care Costs, Budget Deficits & Political Reality: Federal Insiders’ Perspectives, Hadley Heath, senior policy analyst, Independent Women’s Forum; Michael Tanner, senior fellow, Cato Institute; and James Capretta (9 a.m.) • State Insiders’ Perspectives, Sen. Randi Becker, R-Eatonville; Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent; and Molly Voris, health benefit exchange manager, Washington Health Care Authority (10:15 a.m.) • How to Get Involved – AWB Members Speak Out, Donna Steward, government affairs director, AWB (11:30 a.m.) • Lunch (12:15 p.m.) • Keynote Address, Joseph Rago, senior editorial page writer, The Wall Street Journal. Rago won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing for his series of editorials challenging the health overhaul. (12:40 p.m.) Members of the news media are invited to attend. Please RSVP Jason Hagey/AWB at 360.943.1600. More information is available online. AGENDA WHO: Association of Washington Business, with presenting sponsor Lane Powell WHAT: Health Care Forum WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011 8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. WHERE: Renaissance Seattle Hotel 515 Madison Street Seattle, WA About the Association of Washington Business Formed in 1904, the Association of Washington Business is Washington’s oldest and largest statewide business association, and includes more than 7,600 members representing 650,000 employees. AWB serves as both the state’s chamber of commerce and the manufacturing and technology association. While its membership includes major employers like Boeing, Microsoft and Weyerhaeuser, 90 percent of AWB members employ fewer than 100 people. More than half of AWB’s members employ fewer than 10. For more about AWB, visit www.awb.org.