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• Public Square: Understanding Health-Care Reform
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They lined up early. They listened without booing. And they left in an orderly fashion -- without shouting, fighting or the escort of law enforcement.
Given the partisan sound and fury in recent town halls on health-care reform, attendees said yesterday's Richmond Times-Dispatch public forum was just what the doctor ordered.
"What you see on TV as far as trying to get messages across from our congressmen has just been a spectacle," said Thomas Francis, 66, a retired truck dispatcher from Richmond and one of 225 people who attended the forum at the newspaper's offices in downtown Richmond.
"And to have a situation where you are civil about it and you discuss both sides was really refreshing."
Like many in the diverse audience, Meghan Steely, 14, of Midlothian was hoping for a better understanding of the issue.
"I started learning about the health-care bill from different news shows, and it didn't make sense to me," she said.
Opinions were not necessarily changed during the 90-minute forum, which featured U.S. Reps. Robert C. Scott, D-3rd, and Eric I. Cantor, R-7th.
"I think those of us who went in feeling that the "public option" was something we ought to be looking at came out that way," said Crist Berry, 66, a retired human-resources manager from Richmond.
"I think that those who went in thinking that it should be pure competition probably felt that [Cantor] did a decent job."
Mostly, attendees seemed happy just to know that both sides would be heard. Their concerns ranged from the broad public-policy issue of what role government should play in health care, to the painfully personal concerns of any changes to the current system -- or the failure to make changes.
The first person to show up for the forum arrived Sunday about 9:30 p.m. He decided that was unnecessarily early and headed home. A security guard noticed someone in line yesterday at 5:20 a.m.
Randy Lanthrip, who retired from the Army in March, was second in line and arrived at 5:45 a.m. He wanted to know where the 45 million people who might be put into the health-care system would go.
"There are no new doctors and no new hospitals," he said. "Where does that leave veterans?"
Cynthia Losen was third in line and arrived shortly after Lanthrip. She said she has faced two major health crises recently, including breast cancer.
"I've had to fight my insurance company the whole time," she said. "They didn't even want to pay for the only pill to help with my nausea."
Dirk Graham, 50, was one of 50 or so attendees who had to wait outside the forum, which was filled to capacity.
"My concern is with the employer mandates," said Graham, the owner of Bottom's Up Pizza, which employs 100 people.
"The bottom line is they need to reform health care but not at the cost of jobs. This will put us from recession to depression."
The mood was anything but depressed when the forum ended about 11:30 a.m. Most felt a change is needed for the financial health and physical well-being of the nation and that the U.S. can do better with more listening and less shouting.
"I think that if people of decent-enough will continue to say this is a problem, perhaps we can start to address the issue before we really are off the cliff," said Richmond social worker Mindy Loiselle, 57.
"I feel like we all have to keep trying."
Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or jnolan@timesdispatch.com.
Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or whester@timesdispatch.com.
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