On Wednesday, August 12, NASW was invited to attend a meeting in the Executive Office Building of the White House regarding Women for Health Insurance Reform – Stability and Security for All Americans. The goal of the meeting was to emphasize how important women are in discussing the need for health care reform. The speakers for the meeting were Valerie Jarrett, Senior Adviser to the President; Tina Tchen, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement; David Simas, White House Communications Office, Office of Health Reform; Buffy Wicks, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement; Kavita Patel, White House Office of Public Engagement; and Neera Tanden, Senior Advisor, HHS Office of Health Reform. The overall message from the meeting was that it is important to remember that reforming the current health care system can:
- ensure health care stability and security for all Americans
- reduce costs to make health care affordable
- bring stability and improved care to Americans by offering new consumer protections
- protect a patient’s choice of doctors, hospitals, and insurance plans
- assure quality affordable health care for all Americans
The White House also discussed eight Health insurance Consumer Protections. They can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections
