Expand<\/a><\/p>\nOz and Bresnahan, R-8, Dallas Twp., commented during a press conference which followed the roundtable discussion attended by government leaders, legislators and health care providers. The media was not invited to the roundtable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most expensive thing we can do in medicine is provide bad care,\u201d Oz said. \u201cHigh-quality care leapfrogs a lot of the challenges we face,\u201d he said, adding that if a health care provider does a bad job, a patient then has to pay more for another provider to fix it, with an increase in the likelihood of complications in the future.<\/p>\n
He said the Wright Center was an example of quality, accessible health care, as well as local residents training to provide quality care.<\/p>\n
Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of the Wright Center, said the visit and roundtable discussion provided a chance to discuss the challenges of health care locally and nationwide.<\/p>\n
The answer to what Thomas-Hemak described as a \u201ccomplex debacle\u201d was collaboration and cooperation among government entities, health care providers and citizens.<\/p>\n
$50 billion in funding<\/p>\n
Bresnahan and Oz lauded the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, expected to target needs in the area\u2019s health care system, especially in underserved and rural communities.<\/p>\n
Oz said $25 billion, the program\u2019s baseline funding, would be distributed equally to every state over the course of five years. It was necessary to submit an application for the baseline funding, he said, and every state applied.<\/p>\n
A second $25 billion will be distributed to states through population data and also submitted plans for use of the money. For example, he said, Pennsylvania\u2019s application indicates that it would use the money to increase its workforce.<\/p>\n
Should the state fail to do that, money could be diverted to another state \u2014 not as a punishment but to ensure improved health care and accountability, Oz said.<\/p>\n
This provides incentives for states to increase the quality of their health care, and not just rurally, Oz said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will also help us develop new models in underserved areas,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cSo, what we learn in rural America is going to help us in urban America.\u201d<\/p>\n
ACA tax credits addressed<\/p>\n
When asked about a vote next week on a bill set to extend expiring Obamacare, or Affordable Care Act, tax credits, Bresnahan said he would vote to extend the tax credits, but didn\u2019t yet know for what period.<\/p>\n
Bresnahan said he\u2019s been in conversations about extending the tax credits and implementing reform over the course of two years.<\/p>\n
When asked to clarify his stance on extending the tax credits, he indicated he was working with legislators on both sides of the aisle on a solution and was in favor of extending them, but didn\u2019t provide a specific timeline.<\/p>\n
Oz said he would focus on misspent or fraudulent\u00a0 ACA funding and work to clean up the mess.<\/p>\n
The tax credits, he said, had been increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, in response to the emergency. He said up to 4.5 million people were officially enrolled in ACA insurance, but didn\u2019t know they had it, didn\u2019t want it or didn\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n
Resolving these issues, he said, would free up billions of dollars.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Oz spoke at the annual Lehigh Valley Health Care Summit organized by the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce at the Aster Event Center in Upper Macungie Twp.<\/p>\n
A county without a hospital<\/p>\n
Pike County Commissioner Matthew Osterberg said Pike is the only county in Pennsylvania that has never had a hospital or urgent care.<\/p>\n
The issue was underscored during the COVID-19 pandemic, when residents had to travel to New York, Scranton or Monroe County to get tested or be treated.<\/p>\n
Many times its necessary for residents to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance or medical helicopter in an emergency, he said.<\/p>\n
Even more importantly, residents, including older residents, don\u2019t have peace of mind.<\/p>\n
Osterberg pointed out that older people are acutely aware of how they would respond to a medical emergency because the likelihood they will experience one increases with every year.<\/p>\n
Osterberg said he was grateful for the opportunity to participate in the round table and to have a chance to discuss his concerns for his county.<\/p>\n
Negative response<\/p>\n
Following the roundtable discussion and press conference, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Democrat who is seeking Bresnahan\u2019s 8th Congressional District seat, said, \u201cRob Bresnahan promised he would protect our health care but instead voted for the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, ripping away care from tens of thousands of our neighbors and putting hospitals at risk of closure.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a prepared statement, she went on to say that, \u201cNo matter who parachutes into our community to appear alongside Rob, nothing can change the fact that he voted for deep and damaging cuts that are hurting our community while he looked out for his own bottom line. His cruel attempt to tout patchwork funding that represents only a fraction of the deep cuts he made is like an arsonist calling the fire department and expecting to be called a hero. We are tired of his empty rhetoric and broken promises that strip our community for parts while he uses his office to enrich himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also provided an email taking issue with Bresnahan\u2019s assertion that he was helping the most medically vulnerable in the state.<\/p>\n
They pointed out that Bresnahan voted in favor of Trump\u2019s bill, which cut $1 trillion from health programs, impacting both Medicaid and Medicare.<\/p>\n
They described Oz and Bresnahan as \u201ctwo of the most comically out-of-touch cartoon villains who have ever stepped foot in Northeastern Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz and U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,139,28,178,180,179,729],"class_list":{"0":"post-53493","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-lackawanna-county","9":"tag-local-news","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-pennsylvania","12":"tag-scranton","13":"tag-scranton-headlines","14":"tag-scranton-news","15":"tag-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Administrator](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/STT-L-DROZ-1206-01.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"CEO](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/STT-L-DROZ-1206-06.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"Administrator](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/STT-L-DROZ-1206-02.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"State](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/STT-L-DROZ-1206-03.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"State](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/STT-L-DROZ-1206-04-1.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n