Health reform views aired
Brainerd area residents turned out for a health care vigil Wednesday at Gregory Park with the majority of those speaking calling for a public option to provide competition for insurance companies.
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About 70 people rallied at the north Brainerd park for an event organized by Moveon.org, a political action group. Locally, the event was organized by Dr. Paul Milloy, a retired internist who practiced in Brainerd for about 30 years. Nationwide, Moveon.org's Web site said about 360 similiar gatherings were conducted Wednesday.
Milloy said members of Congress will return to Washington next week and they need to bring about meaningful health reform now. His wife, Marianne Milloy, began the meeting with aN audio recording of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy calling health care a fundamental right, not a privilege.
Sue Brown showed her support for health care reform at a vigil Wednesday in Gregory Park. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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Marianne Milloy said there have been 80 congressional hearings on health care in the last two years. She encouraged people to consider signing a petition calling for a public health option in order to make their voices heard.
"Insurance companies might have a lot of money but we have the votes," she said.
Dr. Peter Neifert, a psychiatrist at St. Joseph's Medical Center, voiced even stronger criticism of insurance companies. He said they have a financial incentive to deny care and stated he would rather trust a government bureaucrat to make decisions about health care, rather than someone who has a financial interest in the decision. He argued in favor of a public option rather than a cooperative because there could be great disparities among cooperatives.
"The health insurance industry is gouging us," he said. "There is no bound to their greed. The more people we cover the better it is for all of us."
Rep. John Ward, DFL-Brainerd, cited prevention as an important element of the equation, stating that six chronic diseases account for 85 percent of our health care costs.
"It's not a Democratic issue," he said. "It's not a Republican issue. It's a right issue."
Sara Dunlap spoke in Gregory Park in favor of health care reform Wednesday. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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One member of the audience said that while it's laudable to prevent chronic illnesses those people will eventually die of something and the savings some people hope for might not actually be realized.
Although most of the speakers favored a larger role for government in health care, that sentiment was not unanimous. One man sported a hat with a sign that said "Read Glenn Beck's 'Common Sense.' " Another sign pleaded "Big government - Please leave me alone."
Bob Miller of Baxter read from an Open Forum letter that was published in the Brainerd Dispatch in which he noted the role of personal responsibility in health. He criticized the "local liberal newspaper," for changing his suggested headline for the letter.
Sara Dunlap of Brainerd said she would like to see Medicare for everyone.
"My worries go to the young people of today," she said.
Don Anderson, 75, a Republican state senator for eight years and a former deputy chief of staff for Gov. Arne Carlson, criticized Congresss for instituting generous medical coverage for its own members but failing to provide similar coverage for all citizens.
"That just fries me," he said.
Guy Green spoke in opposition to health care reform to the people gathered in Gregory Park Wednesday. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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Pastor Deb Celley of First Congregational Church in Brainerd said a public option was the way to control the greed of insurance companies and urged President Barack Obama not to back down on that issue.
Marv Begin of Fort Ripley said the U.S. needs to enact either universal coverage or a single payer system.
"We need this (reform) and we've got to fight for it," Begin said.
Pat Gimble of Brainerd said she has Type 1 diabetes and considers herself lucky to have health insurance. "It's still extremely costly," she said.
Brainerd attorney Ed Shaw said bankruptcy cases are making up a larger portion of his work load and many of the situations can be traced to unpaid medical bills.
"The system's not working," he said.
Shaw did have a rare kind word for insurance companies, noting why lawyers should like them.
"Their reputation has gotten so bad they're making attorneys look great," he said.
Theresa Flinck agreed with others that the public option was needed in health care reform.
Wayne Fleischhacker, who works for the AFL-CIO, said the rising cost of health care has eaten into potential pay raises for years.
Yvonne Leiser, Senate District 12 chair and a small business owner, said small companies can't compete with larger ones when it comes to providing health care coverage.
"The playing field is not fair," she said.
One woman said the conflict was a political fight with the GOP saying no to any kind of reform.
"It's ridiculous to be against health care reform," she said. "The Republicans want Obama to fail."
Dan Hegstad noted the frequent number of fundraisers that are conducted for people with health problems.
"It may be normal but it's not right" he said. "Our health system sucks and we need to fix it."
Dr. Ron Faust, a retired Mayo clinic physician, said he thought it was unlikely that any perfect solution to the complex health care crisis was going to be reached by the end of the year.
"We're going to have to work on it over the years," he said.
MIKE O'ROURKE may be reached at mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5860.