Home   |   Major Employer-Led Healthcare Issues Take Center Stage at Inaugural PA Chamber Healthcare Summit

Major Employer-Led Healthcare Issues Take Center Stage at Inaugural PA Chamber Healthcare Summit

Last week, the PA Chamber’s inaugural Healthcare Summit at the Harrisburg Hilton welcomed healthcare leaders, insurers, educators, pharmaceutical experts, mental health professionals, and policymakers for an engaging day of learning and peer-to-peer discussion on timely topics.

The day kicked off with a keynote from Dr. Val Arkoosh, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Human Services, who highlighted how DHS’s broad range of services – from childcare to behavioral health, disability care, and so much more – touch nearly every Pennsylvanian throughout their lifetime.

Noting that social determinants of health account for 50 percent of health outcomes, Secretary Arkoosh opined that health-related social needs – stable housing, nutrition, clean air and water – can shape lives for generations. Because of this, Secretary Arkoosh explained, DHS seeks to use its Medicaid program to offer support to certain Pennsylvanians through Keystones of Health, an 1115 Waiver program that can improve outcomes and help people and their families live healthier lives.

Following Secretary Arkoosh’s discussion, which included a Q&A with PA Chamber President and CEO Luke Bernstein, the Healthcare Summit included various breakout sessions on a number of top-of-mind healthcare topics for the industry and broader employer community, including:

  • Advancing equity and access to mental health services;
  • Innovations in pharmaceuticals – navigating trends, challenges, and opportunities;
  • Empowering tomorrow’s healthcare workforce – strategies for talent development and innovation;
  • The role of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare; and
  • Navigating medical malpractice in Pennsylvania’s legal landscape.

The Summit concluded with a keynote from former NHL All-Star and Olympian Kevin Stevens – who won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins – and shared his personal story of overcoming addiction and his road to recovery.

Thank you to Exclusive Platinum Sponsor Highmark, Gold Sponsor Metlife, Breakfast and Lunch Sponsor Geisinger, Silver Sponsor PA Chamber Insurance, Bronze Sponsors WellSpan Health and Emerge Education, Break Sponsor Capital BlueCross, and WiFi Sponsor Saxton & Stump, for making the event possible.

A photo gallery from the Healthcare Summit is available here.

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Founded in 1916, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association, with its membership comprising businesses of all sizes and across all industry sectors. The PA Chamber is The Statewide Voice of BusinessTM.