Flagler Forum panel to discuss Obamacare on Oct. 1

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Howard Gleckman

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (09/17/2013)(readMedia)-- A panel of industry experts will discuss one of the most widely contested issues of the Obama administration at the next Flagler College Forum on Government and Public Policy lecture series: Obamacare.

The Oct. 1 panel, "What's Next for Obamacare? – Bonanza, Blockade or Boondoggle," will discuss the future of President Obama's Affordable Care Act and features speakers such as the author of "Caring for Our Parents: Inspiring Stories of Families Seeking New Solutions to America's Most Urgent Health Care Crisis," Howard Gleckman.

Gleckman has appeared on CNN, CNBC, C-Span, NPR, Fox Business News and the BBC and has written on long-term care and elder care for many publications, including The Washington Post, USA Today, Kaiser Health News, Kiplinger's Retirement Report, the AARP Bulletin and Health Progress.

The panel will also include John Rother, President and CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care, the largest, oldest and most broadly based coalition of major stakeholders promoting an affordable, sustainable and fair health system for all Americans, whether covered by private insurance or public programs.

Prior to joining the Coalition in 2011, Rother served as the Executive Vice President for Policy, Strategy and International Affairs at AARP.

In addition to Gleckman and Rother, the panel will feature Joseph Gordy, President and CEO of Flagler Hospital.

Gordy has been at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine since 1981 and has seen the hospital grow from a 130-bed facility with limited capability to a 335-bed facility with a full complement of services including neurosurgery and a busy open-heart surgery program. The Jacksonville Business Journal recently named him 2013 Northeast Florida Ultimate CEO.

"We are looking forward to an interesting and informative discussion of Obamacare – from one of the nation's best health care writers to a person who helped negotiate the law to a person directing an institution charged with implementing it," said Forum

Director James Toedtman, who will moderate the panel. "Together, they have tremendous experience and first-hand knowledge of the health care challenges facing the nation."

All forums take place at Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College, 14 Granada St., at 7 p.m. Forums are free and open to the public, but seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign language interpreters are provided.

Call (904) 819-6400 for more information.

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Flagler College is an independent, four-year, comprehensive baccalaureate college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 29 majors, 34 minors and two pre-professional programs, the largest majors being business, education and communication. Small by intent, Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, as well as a satellite campus at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review regularly feature Flagler as a college that offers quality education at a relatively low cost. A Flagler education is less than half the cost of similar private colleges, and competitive with many state universities. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for its historic beauty. The centerpiece of the campus is the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a grand resort built in 1888 by Henry M. Flagler, industrialist, railroad pioneer and co-founder of Standard Oil. The Ponce has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. For more on Flagler College, visit www.flagler.edu.