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Hillary Clinton talks health care at Geisinger

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<p>DANVILLE &#8212; Exactly one year and one day since losing the 2016 presidential election in an historic upset, Hillary Clinton participated in a question-and-answer session Thursday at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.</p><p>The forum focused on one of the most debated topics of that contentious election: health care.</p><p>Clinton, who is currently recovering from a fracture to her foot, was the keynote speaker at Geisinger&#8217;s three-day national health care symposium, titled &#8220;From Crisis To Cure: Revitalizing America&#8217;s Healthcare System.&#8221; The former first lady and Secretary of State spoke about everything from global health to opioid use to what should be done about the Affordable Care Act that is hanging in the balance.</p><p>When asked by Geisinger CEO Dr. David T. Feinberg about what lessons she&#8217;s learned about health from her world travels that can be applied in the United States, Clinton stressed the importance of a plan for universal health care.</p><p>&#8220;It is heartbreaking to me that we fail to recognize in our country how much better off we would be and how much money we would eventually save if we made up our mind to have a universal health care system,&#8221; said the former New York senator.</p><p>She said a universal system doesn&#8217;t necessarily have to be a single-payer system, but it is necessary so that &#8220;no one is left out or denied treatment&#8221; for serious conditions.</p><p>Clinton also said she is hopeful there can be more discussion on implementing a universal system with the recent failure of congressional Republicans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Like many of her Democratic colleagues, Clinton believes the ACA, commonly known as Obamacare, can be improved. But she stressed that it&#8217;s critical for the Trump administration and Congress to answer questions about an adequate substitute if the ACA was to be abolished.</p><p>&#8220;I think the politics of this are toxic.&#8221; she said. &#8220;I was shocked at the level of ignorance that was displayed by people advocating for the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.&#8221;</p><p>Clinton said health policy decisions need to be informed by reason, research, reality, and evidence. &#8220;There is no such thing as an alternative fact,&#8221;she said, taking a jab at a phrase made famous by a President Trump adviser. &#8220;There just isn&#8217;t and I think it&#8217;s time people stood up and said that.&#8221;</p><p><strong>&#8216;No plan&#8217; for opioid crisis</strong></p><p>Clinton also addressed the opioid epidemic that&#8217;s just as bad in Pennsylvania as elsewhere. She believes people are turning to opioids and heroin because of depression and despair in their lives, and they need proper treatment and rehabilitation.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s disappointing to me that the new administration has only given rhetorical support,&#8221; she said, regarding the opioid crisis. &#8220;There&#8217;s no plan. There&#8217;s no leadership. There&#8217;s no money, so communities and health systems are pretty much left on their own.&#8221;</p><p>Regarding the future of health care in America, Clinton fears there will be more inequality in terms of who has access to care, including children, since Congress has not yet re-enacted the Children&#8217;s Health Insurance Program, which expired in October.</p><p>Besides Clinton, other high-profile politicians who attended the Geisinger event included Gov. Tom Wolf, who spoke about the state&#8217;s progress with the fight against opioids, as well as Howard Dean, former Vermont governor and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee. National health care policy experts who attended included Bruce Greenstein, chief technology officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Trump; Gail R. Wilensky, former health care adviser to President George H. Bush; and Ezekiel J. Emanuel, former health care adviser to President Obama and a key architect of the Affordable Care Act.</p><p>All guests, including Clinton, waived speaking fees for the symposium.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Hillary Clinton spoke Thursday at a forum on health care at the Geisinger Medical Center campus in Danville. She took aim at congressional Republicans and the Trump administration for their views on health policy. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_AP17313783231614-12.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hillary Clinton spoke Thursday at a forum on health care at the Geisinger Medical Center campus in Danville. She took aim at congressional Republicans and the Trump administration for their views on health policy. </caption0><photoCredit0>AP Photo | Matt Rourke </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_AP17313785060680-12.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hillary Clinton speaks Thursday at a symposium on health care at the Geisinger Medical Center campus in Danville. Clinton said it was irresponsible for Republicans not to have a realistic plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. She also said the Trump administration had &#8216;no plan&#8217; to fight the opioid crisis gripping Pennsylvania and other states. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_AP17313785060680-12.jpg</photo1><caption1>Hillary Clinton speaks Thursday at a symposium on health care at the Geisinger Medical Center campus in Danville. Clinton said it was irresponsible for Republicans not to have a realistic plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. She also said the Trump administration had &#8216;no plan&#8217; to fight the opioid crisis gripping Pennsylvania and other states. </caption1><photoCredit1>AP Photo | Matt Rourke </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Ex-presidential contender takes questions at Geisinger forum</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Kulsoom Khan</p><p>kkhan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>