With the echoes of disgruntled constituents’ questions about the future of their health care still ringing in their ears, members of congress will hear from President Donald Trump tonight (Feb. 28), in his first address to the nation’s legislative branch.
“President Trump himself has offered little if any details himself besides his intentions that everybody is going to be covered, everybody will be able to choose their doctors and that things are going to be much better and cheaper than the current system,” said Simon Haeder, an assistant professor in the West Virginia University John D. Rockefeller IV School of Policy & Politics and the Department of Political Science.
Haeder’s research focuses on healthcare and health policy (including the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, provider networks, provider quality and insurance regulation), regulatory politics, and state and local government. He can be reached at Simon.Haeder@mail.wvu.edu or 559.908.2704.
Others who can speak to issues related to the Affordable Care Act include:
L. Chris Plein is a professor of public administration in the WVU John D. Rockefeller IV School of Policy & Politics. His expertise is in public policy formation and implementation, social programs and the effects of welfare reform and state health policy. He can be reached at 304.293.7974 or by email at Chris.Plein@mail.wvu.edu
Valarie Blake is an associate professor in the WVU College of Law. Her expertise and research is on the intersection between healthcare delivery and ethics, including the Affordable Care Act. She can be reached at 304.293.8639 or valarie.blake@mail.wvu.edu.
President Trump’s address to Congress comes amid an acrimonious relationship with the media.
Reed College of Media assistant teaching professor Emily Corio, who recently moderated a panel at WVU focused on fake news, said media access to the president and the White House should be a concern not only to all journalists, but to all citizens, as well.
“Efforts to delegitimize the work of professional journalists do not serve the public, rather this confuses news media consumers,” Corio said. “The best response to this is for journalists to continue to do their jobs and for consumers to critically evaluate all of the media content they’re reading, watching or listening to.”
Corio teaches courses in video and multimedia reporting. Before joining the Reed College of Media in August 2011, Corio spent a decade working in journalism. She can be reached at 304.293.7007 or by email at Emily.corio@mail.wvu.edu
Others who can speak to First Amendment issues and issues around social media are:
Maryanne Reed, dean of the Reed College of Media, has expertise in broadcast journalism, documentary and general journalism. Reed frequently writes about current media trends for the blog “MediaShift” and speaks on the subject nationally. She can be reached at 304.293.5746 or by email at Maryanne.Reed@mail.wvu.edu
Alison Bass is an assistant professor at the Reed College of Media. Her expertise is in investigative journalism, the First Amendment, Freedom of Information and public health issues. Bass is an award-winning journalist and critically acclaimed author. She can be reached at 304.293.0393 or by email at Alison.bass@mail.wvu.edu
Elizabeth Cohen, assistant professor of communications, conducts research on the psychological motivations and effects of social media use, specializing in the cognitive and emotional reasons why people share things on social network sites. She can be reached at 304.293.3905 or by email at elcohen@mail.wvu.edu
Other topics likely to be addressed during the president’s speech tonight, and WVU experts who can offer comment:
Immigration law/International affairs:
James Friedberg from the WVU College of Law offers expertise in international law, including the law of war, human rights law and United Nations law. He also teaches immigration and refugee law. Friedberg founded the WVU Immigration Law Clinic and served as director for its first 15 years. He can be reached at 304.293.7400 or by email at james.friedberg@mail.wvu.edu
Cynthia Gorman is an assistant professor of geography and women’s and gender studies whose research examines refugee and asylum law. She may be reached at 304.293.9299 by email at cynthia.gorman@mail.wvu.edu
William Brustein, vice president for Global Strategies and International Affairs, offers expertise in international strategy in higher education; ethnic, religious and radical prejudice and political extremism. He can be reached at 304.293.6955 or by email at william.brustein@mail.wvu.edu
David Hauser is an assistant professor of political science and the lead instructor of the department’s introductory Global Political Issues course. He is involved in a variety of the Department’s courses in national security analysis and is currently developing courses on the Introduction to National Security Analysis and on Intelligence Failures. He may be reached at 304.293.9541 or by email at david.hauser@mail.wvu.edu
Joe Hagan, Barnette Professor in Political Science within the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, teaches courses in foreign policy and international relations and serves as the director of the International Studies Program. His research examines the domestic political sources of foreign policy as they relate to war, peace and change in international politics. He may be reached at 304.293.3811 or by email at jhagan@mail.wvu.edu
Eric Olson is an assistant professor in the College of Business and Economics whose work explores the economic cost of terrorism. He co-authored a book called “Measuring the Economic Costs of Terrorism.” He can be reached at 304.293.7879 or by email at eric.olson@mail.wvu.edu
Scott Crichlow, chair of the WVU Department of Political Science, specializes in U.S. foreign policy and Middle Eastern politics. He can be reached at 304.293.9535 or by email at scott.crichlow@mail.wvu.edu
Energy/Water:
Brian Anderson is the director of WVU’s Energy Institute and the GE Plastics Material Engineering Professor of Chemical Engineering. He can be reached at 304.293.6631 or Brian.Anderson@mail.wvu.edu.
Paul Ziemkiewicz, director of the West Virginia Water Research Institute at WVU, specializes in issues surrounding the use and disposal of water in drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale region. He also focuses on acid mine drainage research and watershed restoration. He can be reached at Paul.Ziemkiewicz@mail.wvu.edu or by phone at 304.293.6958.
James Van Nostrand is director of the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development and associate professor of law. He can be reached at 304.293.4694 or James.Vannostrand@mail.wvu.edu.
West Virginia University experts can provide commentary, insights and opinions on various news topics. Search for an expert by name, title, area of expertise, or college/school/department in the Experts Database at WVU Today.
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