Staff Reports
With the Affordable Care Act certain to remain a leading issue throughout 2017 and beyond, hundreds of leading health care professionals will gather this spring to discuss the question: “What’s next?”
“Affordable Care Act: Where Do We Go From Here — The Politics of Healthcare” is the featured roundtable at the Florida Blue Foundation’s annual Community Health Symposium and Sapphire Awards held April 19-20 at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Kissimmee.
The two-day conference will host more than 400 Florida-based, regional and national health professionals there for the opportunity to know more about a wide range of issues, including health issues, policy, reform and engagement. Executives on hand will be from a wide range of private sector, government, universities, nonprofit organizations and more.
One of the highlights will be the April 20 panel discussion moderated by Dr. Daniel Dawes a leading health care strategist and attorney. As a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, Dawes serves on the boards of several organizations that seek to improve health care access and outcomes. He is written several publications on health reform and equity, as well as the book “150 years of Obamacare,” published by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Among the panelists are Tom Feeney, the president and CEO of Associated Industries of Florida; Dr. Antonia Novello the former U.S. Surgeon General; Jason Altmire, senior vice president of public policy and community engagement at Florida Blue; Dr. Susan McManus, the distinguished professor of government and international affairs at the University of South Florida; and Alan Levine, President and CEO of the Mountain States Health Alliance and a former secretary for the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.
Later that day, the symposium will conclude with the Sapphire Luncheon and Awards ceremony at 12:30 p.m. April 20. With Patrick Geraghty, the CEO of Guidewell Holding Company, as keynote speaker.
Online agenda, registration and information on the location and special group hotel rates are available online. The Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center is at 6000 W. Osceola Pkwy. in Kissimmee. To make reservations by phone, call 877-491-0442.
