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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski believes quality health care should be affordable and accessible.</p><p>Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, hosted a House Democratic Policy Committee public hearing on health care Thursday at the Wilkes University Henry Student Center.</p><p>Pashinski requested the meeting to discuss what is being done and still can be done to make health care affordable in Pennsylvania. He was joined by state legislators from across the state &#8212; Democratic Policy Committee Vice Chair Rep. Mark Longietti, D-Mercer, Rep. Maureen Madden, D-Monroe, and Rep. Jeanne McNeill, D-Lehigh.</p><p>&#8220;I asked for today&#8217;s hearing because many Pennsylvanians can&#8217;t afford and therefore don&#8217;t have access to health care, making obtaining quality services impossible for too many,&#8221; Pashinski said. &#8220;I thank my fellow House Democrats and health care experts for joining me today to examine policies to improve access, lower costs and improve the quality of health care in Pennsylvania.&#8221;</p><p>In addition to hosting the hearing, Pashinski said he is working to find solutions to the systemic problems by collecting co-sponsors for a resolution that he will be introducing next month directing the Joint State Government Committee to audit and examine the pharmaceutical industry.</p><p>&#8220;If serious progress is going to be made on health care reform, we need to understand what&#8217;s working, what isn&#8217;t and what can we do to fix it. Stay tuned,&#8221; Pashinski said.</p><p>Hearing participants included: Dr. Anthony Aquilina, regional president for Geisinger Northeast; and Patrick Keenan, policy director, Pennsylvania Health Access Network.</p><p>Aquilina detailed several innovative programs Geisinger has implemented, noting work needs to be done to find ways to lower the cost of health care.</p><p>&#8220;Quality health care actually costs less than poor health care,&#8221; Aquilina said.</p><p>He also cited the critical need for primary care physicians in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He said primary care physicians have a major impact on the cost of care, since the aging population requires more primary care. Aquilina also said palliative care accounts for approximately 20 percent of all local health costs.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of health care is given to patients in the last weeks of life,&#8221; he said.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Perilous situations&#8217;</strong></p><p>Pashinski said a forensic audit of the four major components of health care is needed &#8212; pharmaceuticals, hospitals, insurance companies and medical devices.</p><p>Keenan said cost was by far the most frequently cited reason for not getting needed medical care, exceeding a host of other barriers, such as transportation, difficulty getting appointments or lack of child care.</p><p>&#8220;For those who went uninsured, high premium costs were the number one reason for not having coverage, far exceeding reasons like &#8216;don&#8217;t need it,&#8217; or &#8216;don&#8217;t know how to get it,&#8217;&#8221; Keenan said.</p><p>For those who did get care, they often faced a struggle paying the resulting bill &#8212; 32 percent of Pennsylvania adults struggled to pay a medical bill in the past year.</p><p>Keenan said besides the psychological harm this has done to them, there have been real world consequences generated by medical debt:</p><p>&#8226; 15 percent of Pennsylvania adults have been contacted by a collection agency.</p><p>&#8226; 12 percent used up all or most of their savings.</p><p>&#8226; 10 percent were unable to pay for basic necessities like food, heat, or housing.</p><p>&#8226; 7 percent to 8 percent either racked up large amounts of credit card debt or borrowed money.</p><p>&#8220;The high cost of health care is putting people in perilous financial situations, even if they have insurance,&#8221; Keenan said. &#8220;Because of these challenges, people are likely to get sicker, or preventable conditions may go untreated.&#8221;</p><p>The hearing was one in a series held across the state on House Democrats&#8217; Plan4PA, focused on good jobs, health care access, quality schools and jobs training, and a fair economy. Additional information is available at www.plan4pa.com.</p><p>For more about the Policy Committee: www.pahouse.com/policycommittee.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Dr. Anthony Aquilina, regional president for Geisinger Northeast, addresses members of the House Democratic Policy Committee on Thursday during a hearing on affordable health care at Wilkes University. State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski hosted the hearing. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL030119pashinski1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dr. Anthony Aquilina, regional president for Geisinger Northeast, addresses members of the House Democratic Policy Committee on Thursday during a hearing on affordable health care at Wilkes University. State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski hosted the hearing. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Pashinski hosts House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on health care