As open-enrollment for Covered California approaches, an impressive panel of health care and insurance policy advisors and professionals has been assembled by the University of Southern California’s Institute for Genetic Medicine (IGM) to “Demystify the Affordable Care Act (‘Obamacare’)” at EarthFest LA on Saturday, September 28. IGM is one of several community partners assisting event producer California Greenworks with bringing a family-friendly, free environmental and healthy living expo and outdoor concert to West Los Angeles College located where Los Angeles meets Culver City. Panelists include the president of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and a USC alumni currently managing a portfolio of government health outreach programs and projects with a combined estimated budget of $35 million.
Free passes to EarthFest LA can be downloaded at www.EarthFestLA.org. The panel discussion begins at 10:00am in WLAC’s General Classrooms Building. Information booths open and demonstrations such as healthier delicious cooking begin at 11:00am. The concert, with lawn seating, overlooks the Westside and will feature smooth jazz Grammy winner Paul Brown, Latin groove artist Freddie Ravel, and chart-topping band Ambrosia.
THE PANEL———————————————————————————————–
DR. DAVID M. CARLISLE is the president and CEO of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) and the immediate past Director of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. He was appointed by then Governor Gray Davis and was responsible for managing health-related programs and a $100 million annual budget. Since 1992, Dr. Carlisle has been a member of the faculty at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and is a senior fellow at UCLA’s School of Public Affairs. He has also consulted for the RAND/UCLA Center for Health Policy Studies. Dr. Carlisle is a long-time advocated for greater diversity within the health care industry. His clinical work revolved around caring for the underserved and he was a long-term volunteer physician at the Venice Family Clinic, one of the largest free clinics in the U.S.
DR. MARK A. PEARSON serves as an advisor to both policymakers and program administrators and is currently managing a portfolio of government health outreach and education programs and projects with a combined estimated budget of $35 million. In conjunction with the University of Southern California where he earned his
undergraduate and graduate degrees, he is launching a seminal study on the impact of the Affordable Care Act in urban, suburban and rural communities. Dr. Pearson has worked in government safety net programs for nearly a decade. He has led Health Insurance Exchange, Medicare, TANF, CHIP, SHCIP and a variety of other government and education programs throughout the United States.
DAVID BENSON, President of DCB Insurance Marketing & Financial Services has over three decades of experience helping to shape health insurance policy and procedures. Benson served on the Agent Advisory Board for Aetna, Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California, Health Net, Kaiser Permanente, PacifiCare of California, Nationwide Health Plans and John Alden Life Insurance Company. He also served on the Board of Directors for the CA Association of Health Underwriters as Presidents and Vice President of Legislation and as President of the Los Angeles Association of Health Underwriters.
As an organizer for Obama For America, LINDA COLEMAN-WILLIS coordinated the efforts of teams who worked passionately to help get the Affordable Care Act passed. As a journalist, she used her weekly column “Straight Talk” to provide readers with accurate information about the Affordable Care Act. Coleman-Willis was then hired as a Regional Field Director in Ohio where she significantly contributed to President Obama’s success in that state. Today, she is a member of the Organizing For Action Alumni Training Corp (OATC) which provides training to communities across the country OFA is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing the policies that the American people voted for in 2012.
For more information on EarthFest LA and to download a free pass, visit www.EarthFestLA.org.