Lubbock Left

Last night’s Lubbock Democracy for America Health Care Forum was an interesting experience. The panel was great — very engaging and a good balance of professionals in different areas of health care. The discussion was great too (there were about 25 people there), with questions and personal stories that kept it fresh and moving.

One of the consensus thoughts from the audience was that America needs to expand its government health insurance program. Medicare / Medicaid could be expanded more or less as they are now, but in a more universal way. In other words, the battle for universal coverage does not have to be won all at once. Also, to show what is currently on the legislative table, copies of HR 676, John Conyers’s bill for single-payer universal health care, were made available at the forum.

A few moments stick out in my mind. There was some interesting back-and-forth between two panelists about tort reform. There were also spirited-but-not-mean exchanges between audience members about achieving a balance of business-driven and government-backed health care coverage. One woman, an American who has lived much of her life in England, raved about the national health system there.

Overall, I was very excited to see people getting together to talk about health care in a serious way for the first time in a decade or so. The tide is turning on this issue, and I think real progress will be made in the next few years.

(No pictures this time — forgot my camera.)