Steve Buyer’s Town Hall

Town Halls: They are the craze which has swept the country for the month of August, when citizens from many Congressional districts and states had the chance to question their Congressmen and Senators about healthcare reform and other topics. If you are lucky, various shenanigans place you on TV either for stumping your Congressmen, being accused of being “Astroturf” or actually getting beat up by the real Astroturf.

On September 12th, residents of Tippecanoe County got their second chance to listen to Congressman Steve Buyer and question him about his various stances on Healthcare, Cap and Trade, and government spending. Despite only being scheduled to last an hour, the town hall ended up lasting closer to two and a half hours, in which the Congressmen attempted to answer all the questions and comments posed by the audience, including a lightening round of rapid questions and answers.

First in addressing health care, the Congressman warned that the Democratic leadership in Congress is trying to eliminate some healthcare programs and spending such as Medicare advantage in order to pay for new spending on broad coverage. Medicare Advantage allows those receiving Medicare benefits to receive their benefits through private insurers, giving people more options in how they receive healthcare. Many Democrats have sought to eliminate this program out of fear that it is too expensive. However, the new spending Democrats are proposing to be paid for by eliminating Medicare Advantage is very dynamic, and costs for proposed programs are high and could be much higher outside the current CBO’s 10 year projections.

Many opposing viewpoints were present at the meeting, ranging from individuals passionately in favor of a “Public Option”, to those very much opposed to any new government involvement in healthcare or new government spending. The Congressman expressed his opposition to a public option or any attempt by the government to move towards a system which would involve government central planning of healthcare benefits. One of the reasons he gave for his opposition to a public option was that a government-run program would have advantages over private insurance plans, such as exemptions from local, state, and possibly federal taxes. With such an advantage, government-run healthcare could unfairly monopolize healthcare and reduce healthcare options, competition and innovation.

Our healthcare system, however, does need reform. Although he opposes plans to extend government-run healthcare, he expressed support for other ideas such as risk-pooling, which would allow individuals and businesses to pool themselves together to buy a policy. Catastrophic coverage, which allows individuals to cover only healthcare emergencies with unbearable costs, is also an area the Congressman is interested in addressing within a healthcare reform bill.

Congressmen Buyer expressed disapproval of Former Alaskan Governor Palin’s characterization of end-of-life planning as death panels, saying that making plans for end of life issues is a critical way to provide guidance to family and healthcare professionals. While encouraging everyone in the audience to talk to their doctor about these issues, he expressed his opinion that such discussions should not be mandated by the government, but instead should occur only between doctors and patients.

Unlike some town hall meetings covered by the news, audience members remained largely respectful towards both the Congressman and each other. The Congressman, in closing, expressed his thanks to the audience for showing their respect for each other and for remaining calm despite their passions. In contrast to other town hall meeting across the country this summer, this town hall was neither unruly nor violent. While this kind of debate probably won’t make the national news because of its lack of sensationalism, perhaps it should in order to set an example on how to have a debate over an issue which affects all our lives without getting lost in acrimony.