Some topics to be addressed:

· How does the current health care system cope with delivering quality health care at a reasonable cost?

· How close will we come to universal coverage?

· How will a public option affect the private insurance market?

· How will health reform affect treatment, costs, and innovation?

· What part will politics play as Congress reforms one-sixth of the national economy?

A period for questions and comments from the audience will follow the panel discussion.

Panel Biographies:

Moderator: Reed Abelson (Bryn Mawr, '83). Reporter for the New York Times who has been covering the health care industry and the issue of reform since 2002. Reed has been with the Times since 1995 and is involved in the "Evidence Gap" series, as well as the "Health Plans" team, which addresses the failings in the nation's health care system.

Jesse Argon. Founder and CEO of Cadit, a technology service that focuses on connecting patients with a doctor's office. At the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Jesse worked with physicians to expedite patient care and trim costs. At Cadit, he leads the team and has active roles in all facets of Cadit's growth. Jesse is a 2002 graduate of Dartmouth College , in Genetics, Cell, and Developmental Biology.

Elaine C. Kamarck, Ph.D. (Bryn Mawr, '72). Elaine has taught at Harvard University 's John F. Kennedy School of Government since 1997. Prior to that, she served in the White House as Vice President Gore's Senior Domestic Policy Adviser and managed the National Performance Review. She was a founder of the New Democrat Movement that helped elect Bill Clinton in 1992. Her latest book is Primary Politics: How Presidential Candidates Have Shaped the Modern Nominating System (Brookings Institution Press 2009).

Harold Kaplan, M.D., F.A.C.P., Vice Chairman of Medical Affairs at the MidState Medical Center in Meriden, CT. Hal began his long career as a researcher in aerospace medicine for the military and continued as a physician with a practice in internal medicine and gastroenterology. He is presently a hospital administrator. In his current position he participates in areas such as risk management, cost control, and quality management. He graduated from the Yale University Medical School .

Katherine Swartz, Ph.D., Professor of Health Policy and Economics, Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. Kathy is focused on research to finance and increase access to health insurance coverage and is the author of Reinsuring Health: Why More Middle Class People Are Uninsured and What Government Can Do (Russell Sage Foundation 2006). She is the president of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management and is involved with local efforts to increase access to health care

When: Tuesday, December 1, 2009,

6:00 to 6:30 PM - Refreshments
6:30 to 8:30 PM - Program

Where: The Culture Center , 410 Columbus Avenue, at 80th Street , New York , NY

RSVP:  brynmawrclubnyc@gmail.com