The Association of Health Care Journalists’ Washington, D.C., Chapter will meet up with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ communications team. This informal, off-the-record gathering is a chance to meet the HHS communications people you may only know through email and phone calls. Dori Salcido, Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, and several members of her staff will be joining us.

Less than a year from now, states must be ready to enroll millions of people in insurance exchanges, as outlined in the 2010 health care overhaul law. Or, the federal government will step in to do the job, or part of it. States also have the option of opening their Medicaid programs to millions of new participants. But that’s not much time, considering their long to-do lists.

Will California be ready to begin enrolling people this fall? Will hospitals and insurers be ready in time? Will people with changing economic situations bounce between Medicaid and subsidized private insurance, and will they have gaps in coverage? Will people know what kind of insurance to sign up for, and how to do it? Will there be a shortage of physicians and other medical providers?

This briefing will help you answer these questions for your readers, viewers and listeners.

Former California Medicaid Director Stan Rosenstein, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Larry Levitt, and workforce expert Susan Chapman will address the complex issues that California faces this year leading up to major 2014 health law changes.