PHOTOS: Braley hosts 'respectful' health care forum

Unlike other recent health care town hall meetings, the one here Wednesday afternoon was a civics textbook example of decorum, according to its host, Rep. Bruce Braley.

“Even though people came with strong and often conflicting opinions, they were respectful and willing to listen and learn,” Iowa's 1st District congressman said.

More than 200 people overflowed a meeting room at the Independence Public Library to hear Braley summarize key provisions of House Resolution 3200, the health care reform bill fashioned this summer in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, of which the Waterloo Democrat is a member.

“We're trying to get health care in the rest of the country to be more like the high-quality, low-cost health care provided in Iowa,” Braley said.

The House bill, he said, will cut health care costs, preserve Americans' choice of doctors and health plans, expand coverage to all Americans and end insurance company discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions.

It will do so, he said, in part by establishing a government-run option that will operate without having to return a profit to shareholders, in effect forcing private health insurance companies to be more efficient in order to compete.

The current “fee for service” model, in which health care providers earn more by doing more, will be transformed into a system in which “quality outcomes” are rewarded, he said.

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After Braley's presentation, about 20 attendees raised concerns about the federal government's ability to manage and pay for a national health care system and about the bill's provision of compensation to physicians for end-of-life counseling.

Jeff Clark of Jesup, who said he was informed Wednesday morning that he has terminal cancer, deplored the care he has been receiving through Veteran Affairs and asked, “If we can't take care of veterans, how are we going to take care of everybody?”

Ann Jolly of Waterloo, who said she is a victim of rationed care under the state IowaCare Health Program, likewise questioned the federal government's ability to care for everyone.

“You're going to find out the doctor is not going to be in,” she said.

Ken Coulter of Independence said he fears the waste and bureacracy inherent in many government programs will render government-run health care ineffective.

Brent Parks of Independence asked if Braley's opposition to tort reform is related to the campaign contributions he receives from lawyers.

Braley said he opposes it because it does not significantly reduce the cost of health care and because it would penalize the 98,000 patients who die each year because of preventable errors by health care professionals.

Earlier Wednesday, more than 100 people turned out for a lively health care forum with Braley at Upper Iowa University in Fayette.