BECKLEY — Area business leaders gathered at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center Thursday morning for an educational forum regarding the much-debated health care reform legislation.

The event was hosted by the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce and featured a presentation by Perry Bryant, executive director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care, as well as local high-profile medical leaders.

Bryant presented a brief overview of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act, which was passed into law in April.

Bryant said the legislation will expand health care coverage, as 95 percent of Americans will be insured by 2019.

Bryant explained that the legislation will reach that percentage by first expanding Medicaid to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, covering between 122,000 and 157,000 low-income West Virginians.

Also, Bryant spoke of health exchanges, explaining individuals and small businesses can shop for health insurance, compare plans and make their choice.

“It will greatly simplify how health insurance is purchased and bring down the administrative cost for purchasing health care,” he said.

Bryant also touched upon several areas of interest, explaining pre-existing conditions will end for children this year and for adults in 2014.

Also this year, young adults will be able to stay on their parents’ health insurance until they turn 26, lifetime limits on the dollar value of essential benefits will end, and restrictions will be placed on annual limits.

Gender underwriting will also cease in 2014.

“Insurance companies (currently) charge women higher premiums for the exact same policy as they sell men,” Bryant explained.

Bryant also spoke of wellness plans, tax credits for small businesses and penalties for companies that do not provide affordable health insurance to their workers.

Bryant advised those in the audience to educate themselves and their employees on the legislation and to take a close look at their existing plans as they consider what the changes might mean to them.

“Education is key,” he said. “This is an enormously complex piece of information.”

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While Bryant laid out the basics of the legislation, Raleigh General Hospital CEO Karen Bowling, Appalachian Regional Hospital CEO Rocco Massey, Access Health Executive Director Charles Hunt and state Sen. Evan Jenkins, executive director of the West Virginia State Medical Association, spoke of the bill on a local level and voiced some of their concerns.

Although many of the legislative changes happen down the road, Jenkins spoke of a worrisome change that takes effect today as Medicare providers see a 21 percent fee reduction.

“This will have potentially devastating impact on the availability of health care providers to take care of our seniors in the medical program,” Jenkins said of the change, which is a result of a 1996 effort to balance the budget. “I think it will force providers out of the Medicare program.”

Jenkins also spoke of concerns regarding the potential financial burden that will fall on the state as the federal government will not pick up all of the costs of insuring so many additional people.

Bowling, Hunt and Massey all said health care reform was needed, but also spoke of financial concerns as they relate to their facilities.

“We’re all in favor of improving health care and offering these services,” Hunt said. “They need to be offered, but somebody’s got to pay for it and that’s going to be very challenging.”

Massey said, although the hospitals are reimbursed for Medicaid and Medicare patients, it is only 70 percent of the cost, meaning they lose 30 cents of every dollar.

“Hospitals cannot continue to take on higher percentages of overall patients where cost is not covered,” he said. “Someone has to make up the difference between the reimbursement and the cost.”

Bowling added, “There may be a growing line at the front door and that’s a good thing because patients need care and we want to be able to provide it, but hospitals, physicians, clinics and other providers have to be paid adequately so that we can provide that care.

“I think that probably is a key factor going forward for us as we begin to look at that. That’s something we need to be concerned about.”

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Bryant said the “informational” forum is part of a statewide public education campaign.

“There’s a lot of confusion about what’s in the bill,” Bryant said. “This wasn’t about it being good or bad. It was public education and, ‘Here’s what the bill said and here’s how it’s likely to impact you and your family.’ We want people to have a better understanding of it.”

Mick Bates, chairman-elect for the chamber who served as the moderator for the forum, echoed Bryant and said he believed the forum achieved its purpose.

“We wanted to begin to raise the level of awareness about what’s included in the legislation,” he said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty out there right now about what it means and what’s going to change. Today, we’re not exactly sure yet but, if you look at what’s in the bill itself, you get some sense as to where things are going in the next few years.

“We need to understand it so we can move forward,” he continued. “I think this is a good start.”

— E-mail: mjames@register-herald.com