Sleep Review editor Sree Roy recently hosted a roundtable discussion with experts in the sleep medicine field. A series of questions about how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will affect sleep medicine were asked of our expert panelists, who provided their insights on such topics as how sleep doctors and sleep techs can prepare for the changes as a result of the ACA. View the recorded webinar here, courtesy of CareCredit.

The Panelists

Charles Atwood, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Atwood also serves as a staff physician and director of the sleep disorders program at the VA Medical Center and as the associate director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Sleep Medicine Center. In addition, he is the director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Sleep Medicine fellowship program. He is certified in Internal, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. In addition to serving on the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) as a director, he is also active with the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) and is the past chair of the ACCP’s Sleep Institute.

M. Safwan Badr, MD, is a national leader in the medical subspecialty of sleep medicine, is the 2013-2014 president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), and is board-certified in sleep medicine, pulmonary medicine, critical care medicine and internal medicine. Dr. Badr serves as professor and chief of the division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. He is a staff physician at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center and the Detroit Medical Center. Dr. Badr directs the sleep fellowship program at Wayne State University School of Medicine, where he has served in multiple positions, including professor of medicine, since 1996. His research program focuses on the pathophysiology and epidemiology of sleep apnea.

Dennis Hwang, MD, FCCP, is medical director of the Sleep Medicine Department at the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center and co-chair of sleep medicine for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. He is also part of the AASM Practice Development Advisory Council.

David P. White, MD, is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School and the Chief Scientific Officer for Apnicure Inc. Some of his major accomplishments include being President of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Chairing the Task Force to write the research plan addressing sleep and its disorders for the National Institutes of Health and being the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Sleep. His principal research interest has been the pathophysiology of disorders of breathing during sleep, a subject on which he has published more than 180 original papers.

Topics Covered in the Webinar

  • The impact of high-deductible insurance plans on the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea
  • How sleep doctors can stay in the loop on insurance plans as plans are moving toward smaller networks
  • How to prepare for changes due to the Affordable Care Act

Email your questions about the ACA to [email protected].