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For Marilyn Moody of Devola, a community forum regarding the U.S. House of Representatives' bill on health care reform (HR 3200) was enlightening.

"I learned a lot - very much so," Moody said. "We hear so many rumors going around. Just to hear doctors, lawyers and business people discussing this and answering our questions - people who knew what they are talking about - puts it all in perspective for me."

There were no loud outbursts - common at some forums with lawmakers featured on national newscasts - at Tuesday's forum. In fact there seemingly were no objections as more than 350 people gathered at the American Legion in Marietta to hear a panel discuss written questions posed about the health care issue and public option for coverage. The meeting lasted 90 minutes.

Applause came with the call by panel members for tort reform and for a Good Samaritan law for providers and hospitals. The audience also responded negatively to the suggestion that members of Congress and federal employees will not be subject to the heath care reform bill.

Panel members suggested the bill is simply too sweeping and huge, costing far too much money and increasing the federal deficit overwhelmingly.

"As a student of business and economics all my life, doing this, suggesting spending $1 trillion when there is an $11 trillion, $552 million deficit in this country, is not acceptable. Wait until our nation is on a better footing," said panel member Bob Kirkbride, of Marietta. "Discussion of this should stop right now."

Dr. George Tokodi, of Marietta, said the issue of rationing health care under this bill is "inevitable."

"I don't think government really cares about the 45 million uninsured. It's an excuse to control health care," he said.

Carrie Haughawout, with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, said small business will be adversely affected by the legislation.

"We all recognize that we do need reform and changes in health care," she said. "Reach out to your members of Congress and let them know how you feel."

Doctors on the panel - Richard Cain, Lloyd Dennis, Neil Grosel and Tokodi - answered submitted questions from audience members regarding current health care practices.

"We need to discuss options," Cain said. "There are several sides to the issue. Medicare and Medicaid don't pay their way now. There is a better way than what's on the table now."

Panel member Khadine Ritter, Marietta attorney, has read all 1,018 pages of HR 3200.

"We could have spent another 10 hours discussing this," said Ritter, after the meeting. "I was so happy to see such a large crowd. We need people to participate in the process and cannot allow this to happen without citizen input."

Ritter said every person in America will be affected if HR 3200 goes forward.

The health care reform bill as proposed is not final and not the only version in the House, said Fred Dailey of St. Marys, W.Va.

"It's just the only one we are able to see. The Senate is working on its own bill, but keeping it under wraps," Dailey said.

Dailey, a member of Constitutional Advocates of St. Marys, was one of several dozen people who left the forum before it concluded.

"I have studied this to death. There is nothing new here for me," he said. "Whichever side a person is on in this issue, everybody needs to read the bill."

Molly Varner, chairwoman of the Democratic Party in Washington County, said as she left the meeting early that the "deck was stacked."

Varner later phoned and said the forum was not "informative" to her.

"I didn't hear anyone talk about health care for the 46 million Americans who are uninsured," she said. "I was a little disturbed that everything was geared to the business and money of health care, not the patients."

The community forum Tuesday at the American Legion was sponsored by the Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce, Marietta OH 9-12 Project, and Ohio Senior Citizens for Real Answers.

Marietta OH 9-12 Project member Glenn Newman, of Marietta, said he would have been thrilled if eight people attended.

"This was neighbors," Newman said. "We are the people."

Caldwell residents Ron and Faye Myers, members of the Marietta OH 9-12 Project, a sponsor of the forum, said they were pleased with the event.

"It was informative," Ron Myers said. "I think it's a crying shame our elected officials don't think this is important enough to be here."

Congressmen Charlie Wilson and Zack Space and U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and George Voinovich were invited, but Newman said the group received no response from their offices.

A spokesman for Space said Marietta is not in the congressman's district, which covers all or part of 15 counties, including Morgan and Athens. A spokeswoman for Brown said the senator was in Cincinnati Tuesday night. Newman said Wilson had earlier told him he would not be attending.

A call to Voinovich's office was not returned.

Some residents have criticized lawmakers for not holding the type of town hall forums in this area that their counterparts in other states have offered. The lawmakers have attended some events related to the issue, and Wilson held a telephone town hall forum last week.

Member Comments

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Marlins55
09-03-09 9:11 AM »Report Abuse	Proud: "free market" means no regulatory body. See "Legal ethics: theories, cases, and professional regulation" By Randal Graham
ProudWashCoRes
09-03-09 8:45 AM »Report Abuse	You people are not listening, I don't think anyone in here is really saying that the current system is perfect. We do need reform, but we don't need a Gov't option. America for now is still a Capitalistic, free enterprise country. What needs to happen is Regulatory reform. Set the rules as to how they can compete. Then let the market adjust to those rules.
WORKINGSTIFF
09-03-09 6:17 AM »Report Abuse	I reject the premise that "healthcare" is a "system". I have RELATIONSHIPS with persons in the medical profession. If I need care, thay provide it and I pay them for their expertise. I have a PRIVATE CONTRACT with an insurance company. I pay them, and they help me pay my family's expenses. I served my country,and I EARNED the right to VA care as well. I've spent part of my adult life without health insurance, but in America one is not without access to medical care, even medicines. The lifesavers at big Pharma some love to bash give out free meds to deserving needy. Private charities help defray costs to those who cannot pay. And, in my case, doctors and dentists and a hospital accepted my payments for many years to cover a family member's emergency. These are all RELATIONSHIPS, not systems to be manipulated by a building full of tenured bureaucrats. Sorry if this all sounds too tough for some. Freedom, responsibility, charity.
Marlins55
09-03-09 6:17 AM »Report Abuse	bwc511: Perhaps now that you've mastered "you're" vs. "your", you would like to work on conjunctions and punctuation.
Roscoe
09-03-09 5:58 AM »Report Abuse	asknot - I would rather deal with health insurance that needs fixing than socialized health care that cannot be fixed - ever. As far as the 9-12 project, are you aware of the principles & values of the 9-12 project?
asknot
09-02-09 11:57 PM »Report Abuse	what's weird is, when there is an article about raising taxes, utility fee's, school levies, etc. this forum is filled with people crying that they can't afford it, being ripped off etc. But the insurance/phamrmaceutical companies are robbing us blind with a smile on their faces, yet reforming it is bad. Weird.
Parrothead
09-02-09 10:55 PM »Report Abuse	bwc511 – You speak of ignorance and show yours at the same time. Doctors can not charge enough to cover their outrageous malpractice insurance premiums because to provide services to people with health insurance they must agree to accept the amount the insurance company will pay them for their services or they are not allowed in the group or HMO. IT’S ALL THE FAULT OF THE INSURANCE COMPANIES PEOPLE! THE SAME COMPANIES MANY OF YOU ARE FIGHTING TO PROTECT! WAKE UP!!!!!
asknot
09-02-09 10:28 PM »Report Abuse	the 9-12 project, whose leader 18 months ago was saying how deplorable our health care system is and how it needs to change, now is rallying against reform and saying how our system is the best in the world. Yep, should be getting my news/beliefs from them! Problem is, advertisers aren't paying you to change your beliefs!
bwc511
09-02-09 9:46 PM »Report Abuse	buzsaw, how do you want them to provide affordable health care if there is no tort reform? It's not their faults, they have to charge enough to cover insurance costs. A fine example of ignorance here!
bwc511
09-02-09 9:39 PM »Report Abuse	You are right, Marlin! I am neither capitalist, nor communist. But, I do know the difference between... your and you're!
buzsaw
09-02-09 8:58 PM »Report Abuse	Did anyone who went to the meeting hear anything about controlling costs besides tort reform? Until the Medical Profession understands they are providing a service that fewer and fewer will be able to afford I don't think any constuctive ideas will come from them.
Marlins55
09-02-09 7:42 PM »Report Abuse	bwc i don't think you know what communism is... your certainly not a capitlist!!!
bwc511
09-02-09 7:32 PM »Report Abuse	Roscoe... you are making sense to me today! There is one thing that people must understand: no matter what you end up with, it is not going to be perfect. You will never get to the point where you go the doctor, not have your health cost you a dime and be satisfied. For one, sometimes "the customer is always right and needs to be satisfied" does not apply itself to every facet of life. This mentality has gotten out of control and spilled over into facets of life that were never meant to be and should not be consumer driven. The current system in the US of "health care for profit," the lack of tort reform in health care and all the commercials telling me I have too much cholesterol, am depressed and can't get it up... are the best examples. Still, I favor a public system. Not because I am communist, but this one time when the playing field needs to be leveled and then we all can complain equally. If all men are created equal, then they must have equal access
rocker
09-02-09 6:37 PM »Report Abuse	Ha ha, give em hail Roscoe!
rocker
09-02-09 5:46 PM »Report Abuse	Lol, can anyone name anything good in either the House bill or the Senate bill?
armybrat
09-02-09 5:26 PM »Report Abuse	While the health care forum answered alot of questions, it still left me wondering about some things. All in all, it was informative enough that I am not as worried about it as I was before the meeting.
Roscoe
09-02-09 4:57 PM »Report Abuse	Excellent point airman1 - the unions don't have ANY influence on this matter do they?? *wink* Marlin - didn't want to type it all again. The cost factor is a major sticking point with me. That & the government's inability to run ANYTHING efficiently, whether that is in cost or logistics. Why do I preach tort reform? Because I know it will not be considered - attorneys rule our legislative branch & the elected officials sure as heck don't want to offend the hand that feeds them. When our PUBLIC SERVANTS set aside their own interests & consider the needs/desire of the people they SERVE, then we will get somewhere. There is no denying insurance companies are part of the problem. What about allowing them to offer service across state lines? There are many considerations to consider I would think.
PressAltF4
09-02-09 4:50 PM »Report Abuse	Ah, you people and your immunity to cognitive dissonance are adorable! 9/12-er: "We don't want big government running our lives." What about big business running your lives? Rescission? Pre-existing conditions? 9/12-er: "LA LA LA WE CAN'T HEAR YOU. GLENN BECK SAVE US."
concernedRN
09-02-09 4:40 PM »Report Abuse	Wilson is more like a ruler instead of a representative.
airman1
09-02-09 4:39 PM »Report Abuse	Plumbers and Pipefitters hall? LOL....hey, why not? The unions tell their people WHO to vote for, they might as well tell them WHAT to vote for, too.
WittyNickname
09-02-09 4:24 PM »Report Abuse	Too much attention is paid to tort reform. Would common-sense tort reform help? Sure, but it's not the single answer that solves the problem. These numbers have been in my head so long that I'll admit I don't remember the source: In a five-year period in the early '00s, your average medical malpractice award went up about 10%, including attorney's fees. MedMal premiums went up, at least in the field I'm most familiar with, 175-300%. Even factoring in declining returns on investments, you wonder why health care is so expensive? Because of the insurance companies, doctors can just barely afford to stay in business.
Marlins55
09-02-09 4:11 PM »Report Abuse	yo roscoe why you repeatin yo self??
Roscoe
09-02-09 4:09 PM »Report Abuse	We cannot pay for this, (by we, I mean taxpayers). If it's not good enough for the President & congressmen, it's not good enough for "we the people." If congress & the president is so desperate to do something, perhaps they should start with tort reform, (yeah, we know how far that will go). Maybe some of you are wealthy enough that the extra taxes, (and don't delude yourself in believing they will not be forthcoming), just remember that many, many more are not able to afford it. And sense when was it considered "controversial" or in any way wrong to insist our representatives stand by the oath they swore?
bobber21
09-02-09 3:59 PM »Report Abuse	great minds think alike parrot.
bobber21
09-02-09 3:57 PM »Report Abuse	If you are over 65 or over, you are already in a government health care system.

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