By Gina Morton
LEWISBURG — A film premiere and panel discussion will explore how the push for profits drives the health care system.
The area premiere of the award-winning documentary, “Money Driven Mad,” followed by a panel discussion featuring experts on the state of health care, will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday in the Campus Theatre, 419 Market St.
“It tells the story of how money drives medicine,” said Keri Albright, CEO and president of the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way. “It’s just a perspective on the health care system — a perspective that a lot of physicians and anyone in health care can identify with.”
There is no cost to attend, but reservations are required. The event is sponsored by Valley United Ways and Bucknell University’s GlobeMed, Office of Diversity and Equity and Institute for Public Policy.
The film, based on Maggie Mahar’s book of the same name, offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the health care system went wrong and what it will take to fix it.
After the film, a panel of three will explain how the issue boils down in the local area, Albright said.
Panelist Amy Wolaver, associate professor of economics at Bucknell University, said the event will cover issues that haven’t been talked about as much in the whole health care debate or in general.
“It’s helpful to bring some additional considerations to the table about the health care reform,” she said. “We’ll get perspectives on what kinds of quality care they’ve been thinking about, things that haven’t been the main focus.”
Some of these under-the-radar reform ideas include better identifying effective care and regulating and restructuring reimbursements.
Wolaver also will discuss the impact of the health care financing system on the delivery of health care.
The other panelists are Seth Frazier, vice president of transformation at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, who will talk about the technological accomplishments of the hospital to improve the quality of care and cost effectiveness, and Walt McConnell, a retired physician and executive producer of the documentary, who will give his perspective as a health care provider.
“We’re creating a system where the most vulnerable people are facing obstacles and not having access to quality health care consistency,” Albright said. “We’re interested in making available to the public free information that affects lives.”
For information or to register, call the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way at 988-0993.
