Health Care Town Hall - West Hartford CT, Sept 2. Part II

My impressions and conclusions:

Larson offered more platitudes than specifics about HR3200. He several times broke into full campaign mode, a la Ted Kennedy on a roll. These interludes were passionate, articulate, entertaining - but mostly empty political rhetoric.

Larson provided no structure to the meeting. He just showed up to say some familiar vague generalities about the need to "act" and "come together" and "support change" to build a "unique health care system for America". And then he answered questions peppered at him. But he did not venture to explain why 100% of the system must be reformed because 15% have no insurance. He did not point out that Medicaid is failing to meet its mission to insure the poor. He agreed with one of the panelists that Medicare is doing a sterling job – but did not cite its ponderous bureaucracy, skimpy benefits, and high cost including its staggering unfunded liabilities. And he avoided talking about the cost of medical care - he stuck carefully to insurance.

So basically, I give him poor marks for failing to set HR3200 into its context, to rationalize its necessity, and to outline its scope - never mind his sometimes inane answers to the questions that were asked of him. In other words, he did almost nothing to help the audience understand the legislation in a way that would have been meaningful for us.

One reason I think that public resistance to comprehensive “health care reform” is growing, is that people don't understand it in concrete terms. All we hear is generalities. And when we ask questions we are too often given incomplete, incomprehensible, or jargon-laced answers - and sometimes we have been patronized & even vilified - by our own elected representatives. Along the way, we have learned to have precious little trust in Congress to do the right thing.

But this growing disconnect between the Congress and the people over health care is more than a simple failure to communicate. My own reading of HR3200 revealed some reasons to worry about its actual substance. I worry that the Bill creates a legal framework on which to build a massively bureaucratic mechanism to control the delivery of medical care - not just the financing of it thru insurance. That is an especially acute worry for Medicare participants. The big example - no one has persuasively dealt with the specter of explicit rationing. I think this issue refuses to go away because people are beginning to realize that rationing is viewed by government planners as necessary.

HR3200 may still be an imaginary garden - but it seems to have at least this one real toad in it.

I also think the questions asked at this Town Hall revealed many in the audience lack important basic knowledge - not just of the bill, but of legislative process, how bills become law, the roles of the legislative and executive branches, who is responsible for regulations, and more.

Larson missed EVERY opportunity presented to him to enlighten the audience. He missed NO opportunity to push the administration line that HR3200 is good enough to be passed this Fall. He said we (Congress) know what you want, we understand what you need - and he seemed to imply that the public should stop telling Congress different and fall in line to support this bill. In fact, both Larson and the panelists said the nation cannot afford to do nothing - AS IF "nothing" were the only alternative to HR3200.

All of this ultimately goes to the credibility of our legislators. And here is the effect: At another point during the meeting, a voice from the audience interrupted Larson to demand "Answer the question!"

Larson's reply was "I’ve answered the question, you just won't accept my answer."

He said that as though it were a problem for the person in the audience, not himself. I think it's just the reverse.

Part 1 is here.