Training: Webcasts

What do current Medicare beneficiaries think of the program? What do they like and don't like? How would they change their coverage if they could? Experts will explore the high out-of-pocket costs some beneficiaries still must still pay and whether they have too many choices for supplemental and drug coverage. What are the prospects for preventive care services that many beneficiaries say they want? Experts will also look at the long-term prospects for Medicare.

Our panel of experts and journalists will discuss these issues and more with an eye toward what journalists need to know to best inform their readers and viewers.

Send questions in advance to talkinghealth@healthjournalism.org.

A webinar for journalists

There's little question that health reform has dominated the news this summer, but is the coverage tackling the right issues? Join us for a "Talking Health" webinar, presented by AHCJ, The Commonwealth Fund, and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, to find out what top journalists think of the coverage of this complicated policy debate.

Health reform is picking up steam in Congress. A major flash point in the coming debate is whether employers and individuals should be able to obtain health insurance through a public plan that is similar to Medicare, as well as private insurance from commercial carriers.

Our next Talking Health program will feature two experts: Cathy Schoen, senior vice president for research and evaluation at The Commonwealth Fund, and Bruce M. Bullen, chief operating officer of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. They will be on hand to offer their judgments on what we can expect. Our two journalist experts, Noam Levey, a reporter at the Los Angeles Times; and Ceci Connolly, a staff writer at The Washington Post; will provide their insights and suggestions for covering what will be a major story in the coming months.

The speakers will answer questions submitted before and during the webcast.

Obama presidency: Does his health plan stand a chance?

What lies ahead for health reform? The candidates made lots of promises during the campaign and now the time has come to deliver on them. Will the new president really be able to bring insurance coverage to more Americans given the country's other financial problems and the growing deficit? Will we again fall back on an incremental approach?

Our next Talking Health program will feature two experts who have been following the politics of health reform for a long time and two journalists who will give suggestions for covering the story for the next year nationally and locally. They will be taking questions from the audience, so submit questions today!

AHCJ, The Commonwealth Fund, and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism will present Talking Health, a webcast for members that will explore the growing problem of the underinsured – those who have insurance but are still at risk for substantial out-of-pocket expenses.

Get MP3 and Flash presentations from the 2007 Urban Health Journalism Workshop. Topics include the health issues of children, seniors and immigrants in urban settings, as well as obesity, mental health, disaster preparedness and the mapping of local health data.

Multimedia presentations are now available from this workshop, the third of its kind presented in California by AHCJ over the past year, was sponsored by The California Endowment. Logistical support also came from The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.

Audio is now available from the AHCJ San Francisco Bay Area Chapter meeting on Sept. 5 at the Kaiser Family Foundation about "Universal health coverage in California and the U.S.: Will it happen, when, and what will it look like?"

AHCJ and the Kaiser Family Foundation hosted this interactive roundtable webcast on March 6, 2007. Trudy Lieberman, president of AHCJ's board of directors, moderates a panel of experts discussing what journalists need to know about covering SCHIP.

With the State Children's Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) up for reauthorization, this roundtable - a partnership between the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Kaiser Family Foundation - focuses on what journalists need to know about covering SCHIP in their states. Health reform proposals announced by would-be presidential candidates call for expanding coverage through SCHIP.

Hospital emergency rooms are under siege. Some inner city hospitals are losing on-call specialists to treat severely injured patients or must pay high prices to keep them. In some parts of the country, ambulance diversions are continuing. So are wallet biopsies which telegraph to hospitals who can pay and who cannot. Changes to Medicaid mandated by the Deficit Reduction Act could affect the care those on Medicaid will receive. Technology and emergency room care will become more expensive, raising the question: “Who will fund this place of last resort as the move to market-driven health care rushes ahead? “

A roundtable focusing on the new Medicare prescription drug benefit known as Part D, designed to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for their medications.

This roundtable focuses on health savings accounts and related approaches advocated by the Bush Administration and others to address rising health care costs and lack of coverage for the uninsured. Webcast and transcript available.