800,000 YOUNG ADULT NEW YORKERS DO NOT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE! WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS? A FORUM SPONSORED BY BALCONY, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY, DEMOS, FREELANCERS UNION and NYU WAGNER ALUMNI ASSOCIATION.

WHAT: NEW YORK’S UNINSURED YOUNG ADULTS FORUM

WHEN: October 14, 2008, 8:30 – 9:00 am Registration & Coffee, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm panel discussion

WHERE: Greenberg Room, NYU School of Law
40 Washington Square South, 1^st Floor

\New York, NY 10003

BALCONY, the Business and Labor Coalition of New York, American Cancer Society (ACS), Demos, Freelancers Union, and the NYU Wagner Alumni Association will host a provocative forum about UNINSURED YOUNG ADULTS IN NEW YORK on October 14 from 8:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. at the Greenberg Room, NYU School of Law. The forum will examine the issue of uninsured young adults in New York and the state’s health care system. In New York State, 31% or more than 800,000, of the 2.6 million uninsured are in the 19 to 29 age bracket, according to the New York State Department of Health.

The forum will feature several human interest stories of young adults on the financial and health consequences of not having health insurance. Included will be an excerpt performance from “Hot Cripple,” the award winning play by actress Hogan Gorman.

The panels feature distinguished experts and organizations in the area of health care and public policy including Catherine Abate from the Community Healthcare Network, Jennifer L. Nicholson of the Commonwealth Fund, Sara Horowitz of Freelancers Union, Tamara Draut of Demos, Peter Slocum of the American Cancer Society, Henry Amoroso of Saint Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center, Arthur Cheliotes of CWA Local 1180 and Troy Oechsner, Deputy Superintendent for Health of the NYS Insurance Department.

The October 14th forum will review health care access and reform proposals in the State of New York with a focus on uninsured young adults. These young people “choose” not to have health insurance because they cannot afford it, their employers do not provide coverage or believe they likely will not need coverage.

(ALL TIMES APPROXIMATE)

AGENDA:

9:00am Welcome Remarks & Testimonies

o Catherine Abate, President and CEO, Community Healthcare Network & Health care Committee Chair, BALCONY (3 min)

o Arthur Cheliotes, President, CWA Local 1180 (3 min)

o NYS Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, Chair of Health Committee (10 min)

o Story of Human Interest (5 min)

9:20am 1^st PANEL – Overall Scope of the Situation

Moderator: Tamara Draut, Program Director, Demos (5 min, topic: “Borrowing to Stay Healthy”, “Economic State of Young America”)

o James Parrott, Deputy Director and Chief Economist (New York State focused only analysis), Fiscal Policy Institute (10 min)

o Jennifer L. Nicholson, Associate Program Officer for the Program on the Future of Health Insurance (National & New York State Analysis), Commonwealth Fund (10 min)

o Chung-Wha Hong, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition (10 min)

o Story of Human Interest (5 min)

o Q &A (10 min)

10:05am 2^nd PANEL: Impact of the young uninsured on New York’s health care delivery system

Moderator: Catherine Abate, President and CEO, Community Healthcare Network

o Henry Amoroso, CEO, Saint Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center (10 min)

o Emergency Room Physician – (10 min)

o Robert L. Cafone, MPA, RPA-C, CEO, Mid Coastal Independent Physicians Association (10 min)

o Q &A (10 min)

10:45am Performance: “Hot Cripple” by Hogan Gorman, playwright and actress; Outstanding Actor Award at New York International Fringe Festival 2008 (10-15 min)

11:00am 3^rd PANEL: The burden of health insurance cost on small businesses and how it adds to the problem

Moderator: Lou Gordon, Director, BALCONY

o Jeffrey Richardson, President, South Bronx Board of Trade (10 min)

o Dirk McCall, Executive Director, Greenwich Village/Chelsea Chamber of Commerce (10 min)

o Story of Human Interest (small business owner) (5 min)

o Q &A (10 min)

11:35am 4^th PANEL: Solutions on the table

Moderator: Peter Slocum, VP of Advocacy, American Cancer Society, Eastern Division

o Troy Oechsner, Deputy Superintendent for Health, NYS Department of Insurance (10 min)

o Sara Horowitz, Executive Director, Freelancers Union (5 min)

o Story of Human Interest (5 min)

o Health Insurance representatives to present the privately funded health care insurance option (10 min)

o Bill Hohfeld, Director, Local 46 Labor Management Committee – Ironworkers (10 min)

12:15pm CONCLUDING Q &A SESSION (15 min)

-12:30pm end-