Watch AAKP Open Forum Online, Learn About the affects of the ACA

TAMPA, Fla.—Want to learn more about how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may affect the care patients receive or how it may affect how health care workers provide care? Watch the 2012 American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) 2nd Annual Public Policy Forum. A recording of the event is now online at www.aakp.org.

AAKP held its 2nd Annual Public Policy Forum on August 10, at The Carter Center in Atlanta. Titled "Health Reform and Its Effect on Those with Kidney Disease," the event featured guest speakers John Rother, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care; Julie Barnes, director of health policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC); and Douglas Johnson, MD, vice chairman of Dialysis Clinic Inc. (DCI), a nonprofit medical corporation. Audience members took part in a discussion on the ACA  and how it will affect patients, health care providers and employers.

“We were excited to provide a forum that allowed patients to learn about how changes in health care policies can affect their lives,” said AAKP President Sam Pederson. “Now we want to make sure the general public has the opportunity to watch the event and we are placing the entire Public Policy Forum online.”

The AAKP Board of Directors has set goals for AAKP that include elevating the role of the organization in public policy making and increasing AAKP's contribution to patient health policy education. The AAKP Public Policy Forum is a step in that direction.