John Coburn '95
John Coburn '95: Returns to the Triangle, Reconnects with Duke
John Coburn moved back to the Triangle last fall, using its proximity to
Washington, D.C., where he lobbies and advocates on behalf of disabled Americans, as an excuse for escaping “the horrendous Chicago winters.” Returning to the area gave Coburn, a staff
attorney with Chicago-based Health & Disability Advocates (HAD), the idea to enlist Duke Law students in one of his current endeavors, public education regarding the new federal drug benefit
plan know as Medicare Part D.
Working with the Office of Pro Bono and Public Interest, Coburn recruited and trained a contingent of student volunteers to conduct public information sessions for area seniors and others affected by the program as it was rolled out — to considerable confusion — in the early months of the year. He has also shared his expertise with students and faculty in the AIDS Legal Project, whose clients’ AIDS drug coverage may be affected by the program, and assisted the Project with a March town hall meeting at the Law School on drug coverage for people with HIV and AIDS, their caregivers, and service providers.
Coburn demurs at the suggestion that he is one of a small handful of people nationally who understand Medicare Part D. He and his colleagues at HDA liken the program to “chasing shadows,” he says with a laugh.
“It’s kept us up at night. Normally a law is passed, followed by proposed and finalized regulations, and then the law goes into effect. There were very few regulations promulgated for implementing Medicate Part D. Instead, new rules have come out in guidance papers issued on the Internet, and e-mail pronouncements. It’s been a hard environment to work in, changing every day.
Still, Coburn knows more about the entitlement than most. As coordinator of HDA’s initiatives in support of people with disabilities who want to work, he trains benefits planners nationwide on what happens to individuals’ public benefits when they find employment. Medicare Part D is part of that puzzle.
Coburn notes that HDA’s public education initiatives put its personnel in direct contact with people affected by Medicare Part D. That allows them to identify loopholes and problems with implementation which, in turn, informs their public policy work.
“Our first initiative was commenting on the legislation’s assumption that individuals covered by Medicare Part D aren’t working. That flies in the face of all the work that the Social Security Administration has done to help its beneficiaries work. This new plan is a disincentive to work,” he says, adding that the effect of automatic enrollment on retirees who have health coverage through their retirement plans is another large area of concern for seniors and policy advocates. “You have to make an educated decision about picking a plan, something that is very hard to do.”
It was always his goal to be a public interest attorney, says Coburn. Starting practice at the Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati and Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, he specialized in the legal needs of people with HIV and AIDS before developing the “Protection and Advocacy Program for Beneficiaries of Social Security” at Equip for Equality, Inc. “It was a perfect fit, because you had to be a specialist in the Americans with Disabilities Act and public benefits, which is exactly what an HIV/AIDS attorney does.” His work with HAD continues his focus on the return-to-work issues encountered by disabled Americans.
“I found my niche in this area,” he says. “The organization I work for gives me tremendous flexibility. We work on the issues we want to work on and find a way to raise the money to fund them. That recipe works.”