Health care conflict

After attending a town hall in Afton, Ia., held by Senator Charles Grassley, I can hone the health care battle down to a single essential conflict:

• Everyone wants health care – they want to be taken care of – but no one wants to pay for it.

I was disappointed, but not surprised, to see Iowa’s long term Republican Senator Grassley stick to the political talking points rather than acknowledge the needs of Iowans.

The event I attended had been scheduled at Afton City Hall, but too many people arrived, and the local Methodist church opened its doors to accommodate the crowd. Even then, people were crowded into the choir seats and overflow at the front and back of the church and standing in the aisles.

To open, Grassley rattled off a litany of votes against Obama administration policies. Then he declared he is against national health care and threw out the lies about British and Canadian systems denying old and sick people care. “I value life!” he declared. Finally, he tried to explain the process of negotiating in which he’s been engaged on health care to mollify those on the right who’ve criticized him for working with the current administration.

Grassley then introduced a member of the audience to come up and ask the first question and help facilitate the Q&A portion of the event. This gentleman threw out the suggestion that Congress put everyone on their health plan or else give it up and go on ours. Predictably everyone applauded.

Next came a question about the Cap and Trade legislation with Grassley noting he is for an RPS. The third comment came from an older woman who stated, “I fear my government.” Genuinely fearful, she posed a question using the old liberal vs. conservative language -- as if we are not all Americans. Again, Grassley did little to remind anyone attending we are all on the same team.

This was followed by comments and questions that moved into the realm of right-wing religious thought, one woman even comparing current events to 1930s Germany and implying President Obama is like Hitler. At this point, a gentleman in the crowd yelled out, “That’s racist!” and he was removed even though he showed no signs of being further disruptive.

Comments eventually came round to health care again, and voices from the side of care for all were raised. A retired doctor shared some of his experiences and noted Blue Cross/Blue Shield once operated as a non-profit, using 93% of their funds directly for care. He wondered why they needed profits now. Another woman inquired about out-of-pocket expenses. She has two children with major medical needs, she works full and part-time jobs to meet them, and she was wondering if she could afford to continue working.

My friend Lisa asked how Senator Grassley would address pre-existing conditions; if he would support regulating insurance companies. Grassley stated he wanted continued regulation by state departments of insurance, using “pre-emption” to legislate premium variations be within a certain range to help those with pre-existing conditions. So Lisa followed up by asking how companies would maintain profitability. That’s when Grassley cited the mandate for individual insurance.

Voices in the room raised further questions on both sides, but the essential conflict was never resolved. And it is the heart of the matter.

As a gray, rural state, Iowa has many seniors already on Medicare. These folks often get their “news” from talk radio and cable or network news, with little understanding of who is paying to broadcast this information. They do not understand the corporate profit motive is setting the editorial content and shaping what they see and hear. They want to trust what they hear the way they trusted Walter Conkrite.

So that’s who appeared in Afton, predominantly. These folks have been genuinely frightened by what major media broadcasts. And Senator Grassley did nothing to disabuse them of that. Instead, he chose to conflate those fears with Republican talking points. Of course, he has a long and impressive list of campaign contributors from the health insurance and health care industries.

But Iowa needs the help of a public health care option at the very least. As a rural state with a dwindling number of farm businesses, we need economic development. But access to affordable health insurance prohibits entrepreneurs from taking the plunge, which means even fewer businesses grow here. In fact, this scenario affects the entire country with the United States losing the battle for factories to Canada and Mexico because we require employers to provide health insurance.

The current economic state of our country is precarious. Too much of our GDP goes to health care costs. Health insurance companies are losing their market; they hope a health insurance mandate will help them maintain profitability and counter any controls current legislation may put on pre-existing conditions. That’s what Senator Grassley is negotiating so hard to protect. But even with that, I believe rising costs will diminish their market until they will crash just like the mortgage banks and financial companies. Health costs have already tanked the auto industry.

We’re still on the brink of the abyss.