Wondering how the Affordable Care Act affects you as a woman? Want to know the eight additional benefits it covers for women? Curious about how the new Hawaii Health Connector is going to work and what role ‘Care Coordinators’ will play as all these changes come about?

Those questions and many others will be addressed Thursday, Sept. 20, over lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the YWCA Laniakea downtown. A panel of experts on health-care are gathering to offer their perspectives on the topic: “Healthy Wahine: Issues, Care & Reform.”

The panelists include: Dr. Elizabeth Ignacio of Queen’s Health Systems; Dew-Anne Langcaon of Ho’okele Health Innovations, and Roshan Rodriguez of Hawaii Health Connector.

In addition to bringing attendees up to date on implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act in Hawaii, the panelists will offer personal stories of how health-care is changing and improving, and how it hopes to reduce costs while improving patient outcomes. Currently 2 percent of the population is creating approximately 70 percent of the costs of healthcare, in part because of the overuse of Emergency Room services. With better care coordination – and payments based on patient outcomes rather than the number of doctor visits – costs are expected to drop, and health is expected to improve.

Rodrigues will delve into the implementation over the coming year of the Hawaii Health Connector which expects to begin open enrollment online a year from now, in October of 2013. It should then be in effect by January of 2014.