Pros, cons to be discussed on federal health care law

Callaway County residents can learn the pros and cons about the new federal health care law at the "Understanding the Affordable Care Act" seminar on Feb. 6 in Fulton.

The discussion will be from 10 a.m. to noon at the Callaway County Extension Center, 5803 County Road 302 in Fulton.

The event is sponsored by the Kingdom of Callaway Chamber of Commerce, the University of Missouri Audrain County Extension Service and the Missouri Foundation for Health.

Thomas McAuliffe, a Missouri Foundation for Health policy analyst, will be the featured speaker at the event.

"The Missouri Foundation for Health is nonpartisan. I will be talking about the good things about the new federal health care law and also about the bad aspects of the new law that will go into effect in a few years," McAuliffe said.

The Missouri Foundation for Health, which offers health related grants, is funded from money created with the breakup of Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance in Missouri several years ago.

"I have presented this program about the new federal health care law at about 120 other places. I want to have a good informed discussion with individuals about the new law - both the good aspects and the bad aspects," McAuliffe said.

"The new law does nothing about the actual cost of health care. In Massachusetts a similar law was passed and the cost of health care continued to go up. Just making sure that people have the opportunity to have insurance will not mean that the cost of services will go down," McAuliffe said.

"Having access to health insurance also does not mean that you will have access to a doctor or hospital. We currently do not have enough medical workforce to meet the potential demand," McAuliffe said.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.