A 2010 forum featuring members of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, as well as representatives from the Senate Health Committee and the governor's office, is now available for viewing on UCTV's website; click on "Healthcare" in the subject listing.

The forum was originally broadcast live on the Legislature's Cal Channel on March 31 and was televised for internal viewing in the Capitol and external viewing through the Cal Channel statewide network.

The California Program on Access to Care, part of UC Berkeley's School of Public Health, convened the forum in conjunction with the Senate and Assembly Health Committees. The forum was moderated by Stephen Shortell, dean of the School of Public Health.

The two-hour Web presentation showcases respected experts in the field of health policy. Panelists include:

• Ruth Liu, senior director of health policy of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan
• Leif Wellington Haase, California director of the New America Foundation
• John Grgurina Jr., CEO of the San Francisco Health Plan
• Lucien Wulsin, executive director of the Insure the Uninsured Project (ITUP)

• Richard Figueroa, deputy cabinet secretary, Office of Gov. Schwarzenegger
• Peter Hansel, chief consultant, Senate Health Committee
• Tom Williams, executive director, Integrated Health Care Association
• Brenda Premo, director, Center for Disability Rights and the Health Professions
• David Meadows, vice president, state health programs, Health Net
• Beth Capell, policy advocate, Health Access

The recently passed federal health reform legislation is sure to have a huge impact in our state where 8.2 million Californians, or 22 percent of the state's population, now lack health insurance, according to a new study from UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research.

The federal health reform legislation seeks to cover over 30 million Americans by the end of this decade. Broad health coverage will start in 2014, when nearly 16 million Americans will become covered by Medicaid, the federal health insurance plan for the poor. That means as many as 2 million Californians will be newly eligible for Medi-Cal, the state's version of Medicaid.

"Our state must look at expanding its high-risk insurance pool, expanding Medi-Cal and establishing insurance exchanges...that's a tall order for the state to accomplish in a relatively short period of time, especially in an era when state resources are stretched so thinly due to our budget crisis," said Gil Ojeda, director of the California Program on Access to Care.

The California Program on Access to Care is an applied policy research program administered by the UC Berkeley School of Public Health in coordination with University of California Office of the President. CPAC's activities provide independent research and analysis to state decision makers, including legislators and government agency leaders. CPAC works to expand health care access for the state's most vulnerable populations, including immigrants, agriculture workers, the working poor and other low-income groups.

Related links:

California Program on Access to Care
UC Berkeley School of Public Health