Hospital Association Says Healthcare Fix Is With Kids

The head of the American Hospital Association says the fix to the country’s healthcare system is to focus on kids.

AHA president Richard Umbdenstock spoke to hundreds of industry leaders in Nashville Wedndesday. He attempted to sell his organization’s broad plan to overhaul healthcare.

He says it starts with the next generation.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of things you can do to help me and my colleagues in my age group and others, but what we’ve really got to focus most heavily on the kids for the greatest return over time.”

Umbdenstock says that means developing school-based wellness programs and reauthorizing the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan or S-CHIP.

The House and Senate are still $15 billion apart in how much should be spent on the program which expires September 30th. Umbdenstock says he supports any plan that would extend S-CHIP despite the threat of a presidential veto.

The AHA represents more than 5,000 hospitals around the country and lobbies for the industry’s interests in Washington.