Thompson Addresses Healthcare

Statement

Thompson Addresses Healthcare

After touring Titusville Hospital and meeting with its chief executive, Glenn Thompson, candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania's Fifth District, used the occasion to address the issue of healthcare in America.

"I have now had the rare privilege of touring almost every hospital in the Fifth District and meeting with physicians, nurses, and healthcare professionals from every corner of the District. I have also spent my own career in the healthcare field and, of course, I recognize the importance of this issue in America today."

"I believe that we are facing a crisis in healthcare affordability, but I do not believe that we have a crisis in healthcare itself. That is an important distinction to make."

"The more I learn and the more I see, the more convinced I am that our country has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. We have seen incredible advances in medical treatment, most of them driven by American research."

"Of the last ten Nobel Laureates in Medicine, nine have either been American born or naturalized Americans doing their work and their research in American institutions."

"The life expectancy of the average American continues to rise, as it has for decades. To me, this says that, despite concern over nutrition, about environment, and, of course, about the state of our healthcare system, in the end, we must be doing something right. In fact, we must be doing many things right."

"The affordability of medical care is another issue. Here, we face challenges, and those challenges go beyond the basic question of how an individual pays for medical treatment. To truly look at healthcare affordability, we have to consider not only the need to supply healthcare to our citizens, but also how to provide the best medial care possible in our rural hospitals, how to make sure that Veterans receive the treatment they deserve at a cost we can afford, and, without a doubt, how to insure that Medicare remains a viable option for our senior citizens."

"One of my goals, both as a candidate for Congress and, if I am fortunate enough to earn the position, as Congressman will be to lay out the principles any healthcare reform should follow. Over the days to come, you will hear more from me on these issues and I look forward to the public debate that I hope will follow."

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