How will the national health care reform law affect consumers, employers, payers, and providers? That is the subject of the UALR College of Business Health Forum Wednesday, March 7 – an evening discussion that will include a panel of experts and a moot court preview of the issues that will be decided by the Supreme Court.

“Heath Care Reform: What Does It Mean?” will begin with a reception at 5 p.m. in Salon A at the Peabody Little Rock Hotel with the program starting at 5:30 p.m.

The event is sponsored by Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, Arkansas Mutual Medical Professional Liability Insurance, and Delta Dental of Arkansas, in partnership with UALR William H. Bowen School of Law, Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Arkansas Business Publishing Group. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP at cobdean@ualr.edu or 501.569.3356.

“We will begin with a preview of U.S. Supreme Court deliberations of the individual mandate to buy health insurance, with Dean John DiPippa of the Bowen School of Law leading colleagues in a brief moot court of this argument,” said Dr. Lawrence S. Powell, UALR’s Whitbeck Chair of Economics and Finance. “This will be followed by two expert panels discussing and answering questions about the effects of health care reform laws as provisions of health care reform legislation take effect.”

In addition to Powell and DiPippa, a diverse set of experts will address these issues from the perspectives of consumers, employers, health care providers, and public and private insurers. The panelists include:

• Peter Banko, president of St. Vincent Health System
• Mike Brown, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Cindy Crone, planning director of Health Benefits Exchange
• John DiPippa, dean and distinguished professor of law and public policy, UALR William H. Bowen School of Law
• Greg Hatcher, owner of The Hatcher Agency
• Calvin Kellogg, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Nick Thompson, attorney, United Health Care
• Craig Wilson, senior policy and legal analyst, Arkansas Center for Health Improvement