For most people, Sundays are synonymous with lazy afternoons. However, the large crowd who attended the Indian American Forum for Political Education (FORUM) event on Sunday, July 25, 2010, was lucky enough to escape that cliché. Not only was there a dynamic discussion with a set of distinguished panelists regarding the current health care reform situation; but the discussion was coupled with a fundraiser and recognition ceremony for the summer interns. To top it all off, the event was also honored by a special guest, Massachusetts State Treasurer Timothy Cahill, who commended the interns and addressed the audience about his political career.

The meeting kicked off with Ms. Archana Vahalia introducing and honoring four outstanding interns selected by the FORUM for summer political internships. The interns were: Adit Chipalkatti (from Lexington), Surya Menon (Lexington), Saman Salim (Canton) and Rohan Vahalia (Newton). Ms. Archana Vahalia then introduced Dr. Melvyn Menezes, President of the Massachusetts Chapter of the FORUM.

Professor Menezes was extremely articulate as he provided his vision for the FORUM for the next two years along four dimensions. First, making FORUM a more vibrant organization by expanding the membership base and getting many more young members. Second, increasing the emphasis on political education, by identifying a few big issues and organizing seminars, workshops, panel discussions, and debates on those topics. Third, building closer partnerships between the FORUM and some of the other Indian organizations in the state. Fourth, creating an informative website and database that serves as a communication tool for the FORUM with its members.

Professor Menezes then introduced the guest of honor, Mr. Tim Cahill, Massachusetts State Treasurer & Receiver General and independent candidate for Governor.  Mr. Cahill provided the audience an overview of his career and an insight into his positions and likely actions on a variety of issues. He also responded to several questions from the audience.

This was followed by a lively and informative panel discussion on “Health Care Reform: Hype or Hope”. The panel was chaired by Dr. Sanjiv Chopra, Professor of Medicine and Faculty Dean for Continuing Medical Education at Harvard Medical School. The other panelists were Dr. John Goodson, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Dr. Sanjay Saini, Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School; Mr. Mark Allan, Faculty Director of the Health Sector Management Program at Boston University School of Management and Director of Health Systems Development at Boston University Medical School; and Ms. Beth-Ann Roberts, Vice President of Northern New England for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England.

Dr. Chopra started out by providing some insightful and stimulating comments about outcomes of the US health care system compared to those from countries around the world. This was followed by Ms. Beth-Ann Roberts highlighting some of the key aspects of the Health Care Reform Bill and the timing of when these changes take effect. After responding to some questions from the Chairman, Dr. Chopra, the panelists responded to the audience's questions.

The discussion was very lively, and it underlined the often overlooked intricacies of health care reform. The responses of the panelists were honest and enlightening as many people in the audience seemed to hold misconceptions about the reform, which were soon eradicated by the thoughtful discussion. The discussion was even more interesting due to the elaborate and fiery audience questions that were unleashed upon the panel, a testament to the wide diversity of opinion on the issue.

The energized audience then continued discussing these issues informally over a delicious lunch spread provided by Bollywood Grill.

The audience was very grateful to the FORUM for providing a timely arena for the community to ask questions of experts and receive education on this very hot topic.  They were also grateful that they had an opportunity to voice their concerns in an arena where a powerful legislator was present to acknowledge them, allowing their ideas to be taken into serious consideration.

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