KEEP HEALTH CARE REFORM DISCUSSION GOING
U.S. Rep. Dave Obey's telephone forum on health care reform last week was a discussion that allowed a real exchange of ideas. For those in the 7th Congressional District who participated, it advanced understanding of the issue.
The call was open to anyone who registered in advance, and in addition to that, at 7:30 p.m. a call went out to 50,000 homes in the district, which includes the Wisconsin Rapids area. Anyone who answered was invited to stay and listen. According to Obey's office, more than 13,000 people stayed on the line for at least part of the call. Even if only a fraction listened for the length of the forum, that's still a significant amount of citizen participation.
Obey was criticized for not holding a face-to-face meeting with constituents and, indeed, a past editorial published in the Daily Tribune urged him to do so. To be sure, the call-in format allowed Obey to control the discussion more than a traditional town hall meeting would have. But it cannot be said that Obey cherrypicked the questions he received, or failed to grapple with arguments against reform.
A caller asked a well-researched and somewhat pointed question about whether federal dollars would fund abortion under health reform. Obey's response was fair and detailed, discussing proposed amendments, which he favors, that would make explicit that this would not be the case.
He took questions from people who don't trust the federal government to take on reform, those with specific questions about what a ``public option'' would mean to the health care marketplace and those who would prefer to see reform broken into smaller pieces. Obey, who is known for being blunt, was gracious and measured.
If the two sides of this debate have often seemed to be talking past one another, that, too, was in evidence on the call. While Obey cited cost containment as one of the major arguments in favor of reform, one opponent asked, ``How exactly are we going to fund all this?'' Those two sides of the debate ought to be able to find common ground, because they're ostensibly seeking the same thing _ lower costs. Somehow, it doesn't seem to work out that way.
In opening remarks, Obey said last year there were 920 bankruptcies in his district caused by health care costs. That's a surprising number, and a strong argument that there is a problem here that must be addressed.
It's become depressingly easy for all of us to caricature the views of those we disagree with. For those who took the time to participate in Obey's forum, that will be more difficult. That's a good thing. _ DAILY TRIBUNE, Wisconsin Rapids.
