Honolulu - The Health Law Policy Center at the William S. Richardson School of Law is hosting a forum entitled “The Future of Health Access in Hawai‘i” on April 7, 5:30-7:00 p.m.in Classroom 2. The panel of experts will be moderated by Professor Frances H. Miller, Distinguished Visiting Professor from Boston University.
The outstanding panel will discuss the following key health reform proposals unique to Hawai‘i:
- “Hawai‘i’s Uninsured Population and Insurance Reform,” presented by Gerard Russo, UH Associate Professor and Chair of the Economics Department,
- “The Vanishing Physician,” presented by Senator Joshua Green, MD, District 3, West Hawai‘i, and Medical Director of Hawai‘i Independent Physicians Association, and
- “Real Health Reform: Access to Primary Care,” presented by Beth Giesting, CEO of Hawai‘i Primary Care Association.
Deane Neubauer, Professor Emeritus UH Political Science, and Barbara Yamashita, DOH Maternal & Child Health Branch Chief, will respond with reflections on political and implementation challenges of health care reform proposals.
“With or without federal reform, we need to understand where we are and what we are facing,” explains Hazel Beh, co-director of the Health Law Policy Center. She added: “Hawai‘i has been a national leader when it comes to providing health insurance, but with the cost and demand for health care services increasing, we have to be proactive.”
The Law School’s Health Law Policy Center was established in 2009, with the support of a U.S. Department of Education Noncompetitive grant. The Center provides law and policy research and education aimed at improving health and well-being in Hawai‘i.
The Center’s current work includes an interdisciplinary graduate course, Health, Law & Poverty, led by Dina Shek, the Center’s first Health Law Policy Fellow. This multidisciplinary course examines law and policy issues that have a direct impact on the health and well-being of poor children and families. In partnership with several community health organizations, the Center kicked off the fall semester with a packed-house public lecture by Anthony Iton, MD, JD, MPH, who is the Director of Health for Alameda County, California. This spring the Center welcomed its first Distinguished Visiting Professor, Professor Frances H. Miller of Boston University, one of the foremost experts on American health care law and policy who is also a specialist on comparative health systems.
This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served between 5-5:30 PM. RSVP to lawevent@hawaii.edu is encouraged. For more information, please call Hazel Beh, 956-6553 or email hazelb@hawaii.edu.
