Geisinger President and CEO says look beyond White House for true health care reform

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DANVILLE, PA -- Today, David T. Feinberg, M.D., MBA, president and CEO of Geisinger Health System, posted a LinkedIn column that discusses the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act. In his article, Dr. Feinberg reminds Americans that there were problems with health care before the ACA, and that a repeal might not have the catastrophic implications many Americans fear. In his post, Dr. Feinberg suggests that reform start with a shift of focus from the White House to health care providers and the communities they serve.

“We need to step back and take a few deep breaths before we lament the so-called health care apocalypse,” Dr. Feinberg writes. “The United States health care system was a mess long before the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.”

Dr. Feinberg explains in his post that true health reform began before Obamacare became law. The reform began as a commitment by health systems like Geisinger to provide higher quality, lower costs and population health efforts aimed at keeping patients out of the hospital. With the new administration, Dr. Feinberg recognizes that there will be changes, but writes that a change in the White House should not affect the goals of health care providers to deliver value to patients through better outcomes at lower costs.

“The presidential transition is over. We the doctors, nurses, support staff, the communities we live in and the patients we serve need to fix the health care system from the inside. It won’t happen in Washington,” says Dr. Feinberg. “As one great country, together, we need to make America healthy again.”

The LinkedIn post dives into the importance of healthy habits to cut health care costs. Dr. Feinberg recommends that equipping communities with quality health care, accessible nutritious food and an option to be genetically tested for predispositions to certain illnesses could greatly improve overall health.

To read Dr. Feinberg’s article in full, visit: www.linkedin.com/in/david-feinberg-4b5b76

About Geisinger

Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across central and northeastern Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the nonprofit system generates more than $8 billion in annual revenues across 163 care sites — including 10 hospital campuses — and Geisinger Health Plan, with more than half a million members in commercial and government plans. Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 500 medical professionals annually and is conducting more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With more than 27,000 employees, including 1,800 employed physicians and 5,200 registered nurses, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers, having an estimated economic impact of $16.8 billion on the state’s economy. In 2024, Geisinger joined Risant Health, a nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.