This
time of year, most employers are holding open
enrollments for health insurance. Every year, the
choices of insurance shrink because of higher health
care costs. Employers make hard choices of what to offer
and how much the employee will have to pay out of
pocket.
For people with disabilities, these choices are
vital. Health issues and how insurance will address them
in the best manner are crucial for our economic
stability.
On Wednesday, Independent Living Research Utilization
will host a webcast on how people with disabilities can
make informed choices. The organization is a program of
the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, a
nationally recognized medical rehabilitation facility in
Houston for people with disabilities. Independent Living
Research Utilization, founded in 1975, has a long
history of providing research, education and
consultation on independent living, the Americans With
Disabilities Act, home- and community-based services and
health issues for people with disabilities.
Support for the webcast is provided by the National
Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research and
the U.S. Department of Education through its funding for
Consumer Assessment of Health Plans/People With Mobility
Impairments.
Consumer Assessment of Health Plans is developing and
assessing user-friendly health plans and services so
people with disabilities can easily choose the best one.
Sue Palsbo and MaryBeth Farquhar will be presenters
for the Consumer Assessment project. The webcast will be
at 1 p.m. MDT. The webcast server can accommodate up to
300 people and is available on a first-come,
first-served basis.
If you cannot attend or log in, the presentation will
be archived, along with any handouts and other
supporting materials, within a couple of days and will
be available for listening at any time.
In addition to the live webcast, the presenters will
respond to questions and comments via a discussion forum
for at least four weeks after the original presentation.
If you listen to the archived presentation, you may
use the discussion forum to ask questions of the
presenters. The discussion forum is intended to be
free-flowing, so the posting of questions or comments as
well as responding to any other postings is encouraged.
Anyone wishing to participate is encouraged to visit
the webcast site two to three days ahead of time to make
sure you have the required access programs. Downloads of
RealPlayer software will be made available at no cost.
Technical assistance will be available before and during
the webcast, and it will be captioned for the hearing
impaired. I usually have the captioning turned on to
make sure I understand what is said.
With cutbacks in public and private health care
insurance, this is a godsend to people with
disabilities.
To participate, visit the Web at www.ilru.org/html/training/webcasts/handouts/2005/06-08-Palsbo/index.htm
You can e-mail Barbara J. McKee at chairgrrl@chairgrrl.com.
Her column runs on Tuesdays.
