As part of its “Educate 08” education series leading up to the October 15th presidential debate it is hosting, Hofstra University will hold a Town Hall Meeting on one of the nation’s most pressing and imploding issues: the cost, effectiveness and accessibility of health care. The public forum is scheduled for Thursday, September 25, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hofstra’s Student Center Theater.

The town hall meeting, being organized in conjunction with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, will be moderated by Alvin Bessent, an editorial page editor at Newsday, and feature the following panelists:

Richard J. Umbdenstock, President, American Hospital Association; Mark T. Bertolini, President, Aetna Inc.; Michael J. Dowling, President and CEO, North Shore-LIJ Health System, and Chairman, National Center for Healthcare Leadership; Sara R. Collins, PhD, Assistant Vice President, Program on the Future of Health Insurance, The Commonwealth Fund; and David M. Weiss, PhD, Professor in Hofstra University’s Masters in Health Administration Program, and Health Professions Family Studies Department.

The town hall meeting will include both a panel discussion, and a question-and-answer session with members of the audience. While the public is invited to attend, Internet users can also view the meeting online by going to: www.hofstra.edu/educate08 or www.newsday.com/news/opinion.

Leading up to the debate and the 2008 election, Hofstra is proud to host Educate '08, an unprecedented series of lectures, conferences, artistic performances and exhibitions, town hall meetings and interactive forums focused on the issues, history and politics of presidential elections. Educate '08 provides our students, faculty and the entire surrounding community with access to the newsmakers, scholars and policymakers who have unique insight and knowledge of the American political system. Many of our programs and events are free and open to the public, and we encourage you to join us for what will be a fascinating series of events. During spring 2008's Educate '08 schedule, Hofstra hosted more than 30 events, including guests such as Mary Matalin and James Carville, David Gergen, William Kristol and Maureen Dowd, Charlie Cook, and many scholars, historians, journalists and policymakers.

Find out more about Educate '08 by visiting www.hofstra.edu/educate08.