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Hansa Forum was held on May 25, 2013 at the Glenview Public Library (1930 Glenview Road, Glenview, IL 60025). Three presentations were made at the Forum:


  • Health Insurance Coverage among Korean Americans in the 2011 American Community Survey by Dr. Yoon Mo Lee
  • ObamaCare: Health Reform, Accountable Care Act, and Its Impact by Dr. Min-Woong Sohn
  • Medicare and Medigap by Mr. Moon Soo Byun


About 40 people attended the Forum. Dr. Lee showed that 18.1% of Korean Americans were not covered by health insurance in 2011, while only about 15.4% of Americans overall were not. The percentage of Korean Americans covered by any health insurance was highest in California, followed by New York, Georgia, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia, and Illinois. Thirty-fiver percent of Korean Americans ages 40 - 59 did not have health insurance.


Dr. Sohn explained that the underlying reason for pursing health reform by the first Obama administration was the concern about rising health care expenditures that accounted for about 17% of the Gross National Product. Despite spending considerably more cost for health care, the US compares poorly with other Western countries in many indicators of population health. Dr. Sohn explained that ObamaCare is at its core not "health reform" but "health insurance reform." ObamaCare will be phased in between 2010 and 2022, including the individual mandate that requires every American to have health insurance by 2014 and the small business mandate that small businesses that employ 50 or more people need to provide health insurance.


Mr. Byun provided information about Medicare and Medigap in detail and explained the difference between Medicare and Medigap. While people apply for Medicare enrollment through Social Security Administration (SSA) regional offices, Medigap (Supplemental Insurance) is purchased through private insurance companies. People who want to buy a Medigap policy must maintain Medicare Part A and B eligibility. 


The forum was well attended by mostly Korean Americans and was covered by all major Korean American news media in the Chicago area (see the attached new clippings and URLs).


http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?art_id=1734150

 

http://sem.chicagokyocharo.com/board/contentsView.php?idx=743557