OBAMACARE: The Importance of Understanding the Affordable Health Act Reform

Obamacare: The Importance of Understanding the Affordable Health Care Act Reform Education Forum
By Jennifer Lynne White
Freelance Writer, Community Alliance


An estimated 5.5 million African Americans with private insurance now have access to expanded preventive services with no-cost sharing. These services include: well-child visits, blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, pap smears and mammograms for women and flu shots for children and adults.

An average 4.5 million elderly and disabled African Americans who receive health coverage from Medicare also have access to an expanded list of preventive services with no cost-sharing, including annual wellness visits with personalized prevention plans, diabetes and colorectal cancer screening, bone mass measurement and mammograms.
Also, over 400,000 young African American adults between ages 19 and 25 who would have been uninsured now have coverage under their parent's employer-sponsored or individually purchased health plan.

Now, major federal investments to improve the quality of care for Americans are improving management of chronic diseases that are prevalent among African
Americans.

It only gets better in the future, and to assist the community in getting educated about the Affordable Health Care Act, a series of informational workshops and forums called "Obamacare: The Importance of Understanding the Affordable Health Care Act Reform Education Forum" is being developed and implemented in West Fresno beginning Thursday, May 17, 2012 at the Westside Church of God, 1424 West California Avenue, Fresno, California 93706 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. The sessions are being administered through the congregations of the West Fresno Ministerial Alliance who will begin to educate their congregation about Health Reform and thus will encourage others from the community to attend. The very first session is geared towards assisting the churches to develop an internal Health Ministry that will help promote and educate "Trainers" on health care reform and then, thereafter, the Trainers will begin to educate the congregation as a whole.

The Obamacare forum will also be the beginning launch of future health forums that will include informational workshops and sessions on such health care issues as diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cancer, obesity and other diseases prevalent in the West Fresno community.

The Obamacare informational forums are being lead by the West Fresno Family Resource Center (formerly the West Fresno Health Care Coalition), the West Fresno Ministerial Alliance, the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, the California Black Health Care Network and Central California Legal Services.

Admission to the informational forums is free but seating is limited and re-registration is required. If you are interested in attending the two hour forum, register with West Fresno Family Resource Center 302 Fresno Street, Suite 205, Fresno, California 93706. Health conscious refreshments and snacks will also be served. For further information, call the West Fresno Family Resource Center at 559-264-7185 or visit http://www.wfresnofrc.org.