Improved Health Care Delivery, ACA Cases Top APHA Meeting Agenda
The U.S. Supreme Court's decisions are expected shortly before the American Public Health Association opens its 2012 Midyear Meeting in Charlotte, N.C.
Because the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue its decisions later this month in the cases challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, the American Public Health Association's 2012 Midyear Meeting, June 26-28 in Charlotte, N.C., is uncannily timed. A planned two-hour June 26 evening session featuring Sara Rosenbaum, a George Washington University professor, and Sarah Somers, managing attorney for the National Health Law Program, anticipates the decision will have come down by then –- possibly the day before.
The session, a highlight of the meeting, will examine the legal issues involved and how the public health community should respond to the decisions. The session is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
The meeting's theme is "The New Public Health: Rewiring for the Future," and APHA explains it will arm attendees with "the educational, policy and advocacy tools needed for keeping up with and anticipating the changes that will be necessary to 'rewire' the public health infrastructure."
Another highlight is the opening general session starting at 1 p.m. Jan. 26, with Dr. Donald Berwick, a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and founding CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, discussing the unrealized potential in the delivery of health care and its impact on the public health system.