IC audience urges expansive approach to health-care reform

IOWA CITY – Public option, single-payer and socialism, oh my.

An Iowa City audience urged 2

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District Rep. Dave Loebsack to take an expansive approach to health-care reform, cheering mentions of the public option and single-payer systems.

And in what some joked was an “Only in Iowa City” moment, when Loebsack's mention of Medicare-for-all was greeted with a shout of “Socialism,” the audience began to clap and cheer.

Opponents were not absent and, although being outnumbered in the heavily Democratic stronghold, were not silent, leading to a number of peaceful shouting matches between members of the more than 700 people who filled MacBride Hall Auditorium on the University of Iowa campus. Loebsack's fifth of 16 town hall meetings during the August congressional recess was moved to the larger venue from the Iowa City Public Library which, he said, could accommodate only 135 people.

“I think it's fair to say we've had spirited discussions” at the previous meetings, Loebsack said.

His description of elements of the proposals on the table – coverage of those lacking health-care insurance, no denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions, caps on out-of-pocket expenses – drew cheers and applause from the audience.

Other answers from the second-term Democrat's answers were greeted with some skepticism. For example, when Loebsack said he believes health-care reform will be deficient neutral, there were chuckles from audience members.

He acknowledged concerns about the cost of reform and entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which one questioner said are a $59 trillion bill that will come due to future generations.

“Whether you think Medicare and Medicaid are broke, we have to deal with these problem,” Loebsack said, adding he would prefer to do it sooner rather than later.

He called the public option – a government-run alternative to private health-care insurance – “the best part of the bill.” Loebsack said he doesn't know enough about the co-ops being suggested by others, including Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., to know whether they are viable.

Although there are examples of “relatively successful” co-ops in Washington and Minnesota, he wonders if they can be applied on a broader basis.

“My big concern is whether they would be big enough to provide the kind of pool to provide the benefits we need,” he said. “When it comes to insurance, numbers matter.”

A public option would be paid for, initially, with tax dollars, he said, but then “play by the same rules as private insurance – it would be paid for by premiums,” Loebsack said.

He likes it because it would offer consumers more choices and cited a Congressional Budget Office estimate that by 20129 only 4 percent of consumers would be on the public option. The others would choose one of the other plans available.

His goals, Loebsack said, are coverage for everyone, choice and cost containment.

And, he said to opponents, “I'm not going to vote for anything that will lead to rationing, euthanasia or faceless bureaucrats making decisions for your family.”

Loebsack will resume town halls meetings next Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Washington Public Library, 120 E. Main St.