By Associated Press
Birmingham, AL – Access to health care in Alabama during the recession is the focus of a gathering being held in Birmingham.
About 300 community leaders, health care providers and consumers are expected for the Health Care Access Conference being held Tuesday at Birmingham-Southern College.
The event is meant to highlight what organizers say is a crisis in health care as budget shortfalls cut into spending for programs including Medicaid and the Alabama Department of Public Health.
The former head of Alabama's health agency, Dr. Claude Earl Fox, said learning about the problem and possible solutions is one way people can help. Fox served as an advisor to President Obama during the White House transition and is the keynote speaker at the event.