We had a valuable first day at Spotlight Health, surrounded by frontline thinkers and innovators of health and medicine. At the opening reception, Walter Isaacson, president of The Aspen Institute, introduced 10 global health leaders who each shared a brave new idea they have about the future of health. It was so inspiring to hear the breadth and depth of ideas that have the potential to change the way that health is understood around the world.

The conference began yesterday afternoon, and we first heard Daniel Kraft and James Hamblin debate the question: Can Artificial Intelligence Revolutionize Medicine? This talk focused on how artificial intelligence (AI) will not replace providers, but instead augment, expedite, and improve access. They also discussed the potential of data and how it is being harnessed by IBM Watson, which uses AI to go through entire PubMed database, millions of patient records, and more.

We heard quite a few experts discuss the Senate bill that would replace the Affordable Care Act if passed. Judy Woodruff interviewed former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on the topic, and Sebelius was not shy when she said that the “Senate version [of the bill] may be less awful than the house version, but it’s still awful.” While she agrees that her version of Obamacare is not perfect (for example, it did not appeal to many young people), it has unequivocally reduced the number of people uninsured and increased patient safety. The Senate’s overhaul of the ACA will only leave more Americans uninsured and remove the safety net for those that need it most.

We also heard Stanford policy expert Lanhee Chen and key healthcare figure Andy Slavitt debate the Senate health care proposal released today. They shared, in their opinion, what works and what does not, and established some common ground despite their difference of opinions.

In a newly added Late Breaker session, “Health Reform Legislation to Arrive on Senate Floor,” we heard Julie Rovner, Joanne Kenen, Margot Sanger-Katz, and Elliot Gerson further discuss the release of the Senate healthcare bill. They shared all of the major changes and issues with the bill, using their knowledge and expertise in the health-centered media sector.

To end the night, we saw a screening of Bend the Arc, a film about the history of Partners in Health and the profound impact they’ve had on providing global care. Even after Paul Farmer, Jim Kim, and their colleagues consistently removed barriers to care for patients with TB (including multi-drug resistant TB) and HIV/AIDS in Haiti, Peru, and Rwanda, they received little support from the WHO and Congress. Time after time, they heard that their solutions were unsustainable, merely because global leaders were unwilling to pay the prices to get people the health care they deserved. With strategies such as employing community health workers and engaging in relentless advocacy, they have been able to build health systems from the ground up in over 10 countries that need it most. The film was followed by a discussion with key players Peter Drobac, Agnes Binagwaho, Cori Shepherd Stern, and Dan Glickman.

What an engaging and inspiring round of sessions we were lucky to attend! We look forward to seeing what the rest of Spotlight Health has in store for us.

Julia Cohen contributed to this piece.