AHA

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacts significant reforms that ultimately bolster individual, community, and public health and medical system preparedness.

The core indicator of how an individual fares after a crisis is how he or she fared before the crisis. At the individual level, the ACA improves access to quality care by expanding eligibility; increasing affordability; and strengthening the primary care, preventative services and mental health benefits included in plans. This expanded access increases individual resilience and will translate to better daily disease management and prevention.

For communities and health systems, the ACA will provide opportunities to increase preparedness. Dr. Lurie highlights the way reforms such as health IT investments, Accountable Care Organizations and community benefit reforms/provisions impact our ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from a public health emergency. She discusses the ongoing importance of programs such as the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) and how innovations in our ongoing preparedness work dovetail with the objectives of the ACA.

What Attendees Will Learn:

• The potential impacts that changing health care delivery infrastructure may have on disaster preparedness and response
• How the ACA reforms improve individual health and resilience before a public health emergency, translating to better outcomes after an event
• How changes at the community and health system level will increase preparedness
• The role of existing programs such as HPP
• How innovations in preparedness work dovetail with the objectives of the ACA

Speaker:

• Nicole Lurie, MD, MSPH, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Nicole Lurie is the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). The ASPR serves as the Secretary's principal advisor on matters related to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. The mission of her office is to lead the nation in preventing, responding to and recovering from the adverse health effects of public health emergencies and disasters. As such, she coordinates interagency activities between HHS, other federal agencies, and state and local officials responsible for emergency preparedness and the protection of the civilian population from acts of bioterrorism and other public health emergencies.