ANN ARBOR, MI - With health care on the short list of hot topics for this year's presidential election, many voters want to know exactly what the two leading candidates propose to do about Medicare, the uninsured, prescription drugs and rising health care costs if they're elected.

On Friday, Oct. 29, just days before the Nov. 2 election, representatives from the campaigns of George W. Bush and John Kerry will present their candidates' health plans (Bush, Kerry) an event being held at the University of Michigan Health System. A panel of experts representing health care, large and small employers, government and the insurance industry will examine those plans and their implications and costs.

The free public event will run from noon to 2 p.m. in the Ford Amphitheater on the second floor of University Hospital, and will offer voters a chance to ask questions of the candidates' representatives.

It's the latest in a series of health care discussions presented by the U-M Forum on Health Policy, and co-sponsored by the U-M Medical School's Department of Internal Medicine and Program in Society & Medicine, as well as the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Michigan and the U-M School of Public Health's Health Policy Students Association. For more information, call 734-996-4545 or e-mail gkasmer@umich.edu.

The discussion panel will include:

• Gail Warden, former CEO of the Henry Ford Health System and a member of the Detroit Wayne County Health Authority
• Marianne Udow, director of the State of Michigan Family Independence Agency, and on leave from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
• Ricardo Guzman, the CEO of the CHASS Health Clinic in Detroit, a “safety net” health care clinic for residents of southwest Detroit
• Matthew Davis, M.D., MAPP, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the U-M Medical School and at the U-M Ford School of Public Policy
• Richard Studley, senior vice president for government relations of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, representing employers of all sizes
• A representative from a major employer or other third-party payor. Industry faces high health insurance costs for employees and retirees, and many companies have joined in the call for a national solution to the intertwined problems of uninsurance and rapidly rising health insurance costs.

The panel will be moderated by Jack Billi, M.D., U-M associate vice president for medical affairs. It will be introduced by Forum director Marilynn Rosenthal, Ph.D.

"In 2004, the presidential candidates have distinctly contrasting health policy reform ideas. This is a key issue,” says Rosenthal. “The FORUM event will provide the chance to hear about those differences and take part in an informed discussion of them.”

For more information on the U-M Forum on Health Policy, or to find out about television air dates, books and videos for previous Forum events, visit www.med.umich.edu/forum.

Contact: Kara Gavin

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