Health care sector gears up for presidential debate

As Nashville prepares for the Belmont presidential debate, so are various industry sectors that are greatly affected by public-policy initiatives. They are watching what the candidates say and are trying to read the tea leaves how either choice will affect their business future.

Perhaps no industry in Nashville is paying closer attention to the candidates than that of the healthcare sector.

But while Senators Barack Obama and John McCain will take the stage to discuss every aspect of American life, the Nashville Health Care Council has decided to host a panel discussion of their own.

Five national policy experts will assemble in the capital of the nation's healthcare industry to discuss the future of the sector at the Vanderbilt Marriott Hotel on Oct. 7.

The panel will discuss the implications of healthcare reform in the context of the 2008 elections and will convene the morning of the second presidential debate between McCain and Obama.

The discussion will be moderated by former Senator Bill Frist, will include the following panelists:

• John Podesta, who served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and is now the president and chief operating officer for the Center for American Progress

• Dick Morris, a former Clinton adviser, Fox News contributor and consultant to Integrated Medical Systems

• Chris Jennings, president of Jennings Policy Strategies and former senior health care adviser to President Bill Clinton

• Charles "Chip" Kahn III, president of the Federation of American Hospitals

"Nashville Health Care Council members have shaped the nation's health care landscape," said Tom Cigarran, chairman of Healthways and the Health Care Council. "It's very fitting here in Nashville to set the stage for the presidential debate with a rigorous discussion of the health care platforms of the two candidates."

Nashville-based health care companies account for $46 billion in annual revenue and more than 310,000 jobs globally. Nashville-based hospital management companies own or operate about half of the investor-owned hospitals in the United States.