Will there be a public plan option or, as an alternative, health insurance co-ops? How will reform be financed? Can the “cost curve” be bent, either during or after the 10-year window that’s the focus of Congressional Budget Office “scoring”? How might Medicare change—or facilitate change—in a reformed system? How will reform affect employers, especially small businesses? These questions were recently addressed at a National Press Club briefing by health policy experts on September 3, 2009. The briefing—sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation—looked at some of the important issues facing President Obama in the next 100 days if he is to sign a meaningful health reform bill this year.

Speakers included:

• Gail Wilensky, Ph.D., senior fellow, Project HOPE;
• Dallas Salisbury, M.P.A., president and CEO, Employee Benefit Research Institute;
• Ken Thorpe, Ph.D., department chair, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University;
• Ed Howard, J.D., executive vice president, Alliance for Health Reform; and
• Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.