Millions of Americans struggle to afford health care despite implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014. While ACA exchanges across the country have resulted in fewer uninsured Americans, rising premiums and deductibles leave many families considering whether the coverage is worth the cost. To address the affordability of health care, two professors at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health researched the impact of a public option on the ACA exchange in California. They used L.A. Care Health Plan, the only public plan on California’s ACA exchange, as an example of a successful public option.
Tomorrow, Cristina Inglese, L.A. Care’s Executive Director for L.A. Care Covered™, the health plan’s product on California’s ACA exchange, will join Professors Stephen Shortell and Richard Scheffler for a virtual discussion on the public option. The professors say L.A. Care has provided convincing evidence on the effect of increasing competition in ACA marketplace, resulting in lower premiums, not only for L.A. Care members, but also for those of competitors in the market. Inglese will share that L.A. Care Covered has the most affordable rates for the third straight year in Los Angeles County.
The Executive Director of Insure the Uninsured Project will also join the discussion, which has been organized by the Berkeley Emeriti Academy at UC Berkeley. After the panel discussion, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions. It’s a timely topic as the state’s new Office of Healthcare Affordability is beginning deliberations on how to make health care more affordable.
The panel discussion is:
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
4:00 – 5:30 pm
To join the Zoom discussion, you can register here.
You can view the webinar here.*
*Updated November 29, 2023