When you are pair-bonded with a doctor you can’t help but be inundated with medicine talk, insurance talk, health care talk in general and of course health care reform talk. You simply can’t get away from it. However, if you are not pair-bonded with a doctor I would suspect that health care reform is one area you’d probably like to hear smart people discussing.

A panel discussion on health care reform is the inaugural event in a new series at the Louisville Science Center called Scientific Proofs. I’ll be skipping the health care talk (see the above paragraph) but I’m very much looking forward to hearing about the other events in this series. I like hearing smart people talk about stuff that I don’t know enough about.

The conversation will be the first in a series of after-hours, informal dialogue around timely science topics. The series, “Scientific Proofs,” will include six or eight conversations during 
the course of the year, designed to foster a more scientifically literate community by encouraging idea exchange, information sharing, and educational opportunities for individuals in an impartial venue.

The conversation on health care aims to offer a variety of  perspectives on national health care reform and to deepen the  understanding of the issues as they relate to us here in Louisville  and statewide. The conversation will be guided by audience questions,  facilitated by Dr. Adewale Troutman, Science Center Board Member and  Director of Public Health for Louisville Metro Government.

The November 19 dialogue features:

Michael P. Muldoon, executive director of Health Enterprises Network. Muldoon is the former owner/president of Managed Healthcare Business Development Consulting, where he worked with health care leaders including Passport and Anthem. He was also executive director  of two Humana managed care plans in Virginia and Florida.

 William B. Wagner, executive director of Family Health Centers, Inc. Family Health Centers, Inc. is a non-profit corporation established by the Louisville-Jefferson County Board of Health in 1976  to assure that residents of Louisville Metro have access to high quality primary and preventive health services, regardless of ability  to pay.

Ms. Nici Gaines, Associate Vice President of University Health Care, Inc. Gaines is the former director of the Kentucky  Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) and also formerly served  as director of pharmacy operations for the Department of Medicaid 
Services.

Richard W. Wilson, chairman of the Department of Health  Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Louisville,  which focuses on health information utilization and its effects on  individuals and communities.

Elizabeth M. North, Director of Reimbursement, Baptist  Hospital East. North was previously a hospital contracting executive  at Humana, Inc. She also worked for United Healthcare and was an  independent consultant.

The lecture is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and advance reservations are  required.  To reserve tickets, call (502) 560-7130 or email jenna.spear@louisvilleky.gov. A  cash bar will be available. Tastings of Dumante Verdenoce Liquer will  be available, for those 21 and older.