Affordable Care Act with Ruth Katz

 Affordable Care Act with Ruth Katz

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
On April 6, the Hughes Center hosted Ruth J. Katz, director of the Health, Medicine and Society Program at The Aspen Institute, for a presentation on "The Making of the Affordable Care Act: An Insider's Account of Healthcare Policymaking." Katz shared her insights with the Stockton community in the Campus Center Theater.
Her presentation outlined the political and bureaucratic efforts that went into passage of the Affordable Care Act, and how subsequent rulings by the Supreme Court potentially affected several million people. Katz also rebutted myths about the Affordable Care Act, saying, for instance, that it has led to job creation, not job losses. She said despite problems with its initial implementation, including website glitches, the act will prove to be popular and effective in the long run.
 
"Ruth Katz is a superb public servant," said Daniel J. Douglas, director of the Hughes Center, highlighting her extensive career in public service both on and off Capitol Hill.
 
The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. Katz, a Ventnor native, previously served as Chief Public Health Counsel with the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the U.S. House of Representatives. The committee has legislative jurisdiction over domestic health programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration, and national health care reform efforts.
 
Katz was also the lead Democratic committee staff member on the public health components of the health reform initiative passed by the House in November 2009.