December 17, 2024
Making Sense of the Election: The President and the Congress and Where We Go from Here
Long Term Care Discussion Group
Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
Topic:
Reprising their 2020 presentation we have two political experts who will explore the outcomes of the November elections including Congressional Committee and Administration staffing. What might this all mean for aging and long-term care policy in the coming year? We are pleased to have two experts who can speak so knowledgeably about what we might see.
About the Speakers:
Joel White
Joel is the Founder and President of Horizon Government Affairs, a health care consultancy that represents several dozen clients and runs four coalitions comprised of 200 organizations dedicated to reforms that improve our health system. Horizon has specific issue expertise in drug pricing, coverage and reimbursement; technology and data issues; and insurance and benefit design matters. Horizon has helped enact more than 50 laws since its founding and prevented countless bad ideas from seeing the light of day.
Previously, Joel spent twelve years on Capitol Hill including as Staff Director of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee. While on the Hill he helped enact nine laws, including the:
- 2002 Trade Act, which created health care tax credits for private coverage;
- 2003 law that established the Medicare prescription drug benefit and created Health Savings Accounts; and
- 2005 Deficit Reduction Act and the 2006 Tax Reform and Health Care Act, which reformed Medicare payment policies.
Joel also runs a charitable organization that seeks to end poverty and is on the boards of several non-profits in the patient advocacy space. He holds a B.S. in Economics from the American University and is the co-author of the book, Facts and Figures on Government Finance.
Bob Blancato
Bob is the President of Matz, Blancato and Associates. In that capacity, he also serves as the National Coordinator of the bipartisan 3000-member Elder Justice Coalition, the Executive Director of the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs and National Coordinator of the Defeat Malnutrition Today coalition.
Bob has long been recognized as a national advocate with policy expertise on behalf of older adults. He has testified numerous times before Congressional committees most recently in 2022.
Bob's prior work history includes 17 years as a staffer in Congress and an appointment by President Clinton to be the Executive Director of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging, one of four in which he has participated. He is a member of the Senior Executive Service. As a volunteer, he is Second Vice Chair of National Board of AARP and also on the AARP Foundation. In addition, he also serves on the board of the National Hispanic Council on Aging. In 2019, Bob served on the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services, from 2019 to 2023. Bob holds a BA from Georgetown University and an MPA from American University. Bob has won numerous awards for advocacy, most recently the American Society for Aging's ASA Hall of Fame Award in March 2020.
Accessing the Meeting:
Zoom registration link for Making Sense of the Election
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