On Point In Nashville: Obamacare Rollout

On Point goes to Nashville — big medical center — to look at the rollout of the Affordable Care Act — Obamacare.

Six months from today, enrollment opens for Obamacare. October 1st, the Affordable Care Act begins to really roll out in earnest. No more hypotheticals. No more Supreme Court battle. A new day in American health care. Six months, and the rubber meets the road.

To see how the country’s preparing, we hit the road. Took On Point to Nashville – a major medical center where all the drama is playing out right now. We had a big crowd Friday night. A great panel. All live to tape for you.

This hour, On Point: rolling out Obamacare – the view from Nashville.
-Tom Ashbrook

Philip Bredesen, Democratic Governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011. Mayor of Nashville from 1991 to 1999. Author of "Fresh Medicine: How to Fix Reform and Build a Sustainable Health Care System.”

Dr. Wayne Riley, president, chief executive officer and professor of internal medicine at Meharry Medical College.

Lawrence Van Horn, leading expert and researcher on healthcare management and economics. Associate professor of management and executive director of health affairs at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.

Businessweek "Many small business owners are asking questions about navigating the coming changes in health insurance under Obamacare. That’s not surprising, given that major reform provisions begin taking effect this year and next. There is also widespread confusion among small business owners about the law’s implementation and requirements."

Bloomberg "President Barack Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act celebrated its third birthday last weekend. This particular anniversary was a big deal, because it was often unclear whether the law would reach it. In the first place, it was imperiled by the Supreme Court; in the second, by Republicans’ promise to kill it if they won the White House in 2012. Over the past year, Obamacare survived both challenges, and next year it will begin its core mission of insuring tens of millions of Americans."

WKRN Nashville "Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam ended months of suspense Wednesday morning by saying he won't expand the state's Medicaid program as part of President Obama's health care law. Haslam said he will pursue what he calls a "third way" to provide medical coverage for 175,000 uninsured low-income Tennessee."