Local forum held on health care changes

July 23rd, 2009
KONP.com

(Port Angeles, WA) -- It was standing room only last night at Linkletter Hall in Olympic Medical Center, as the Clallam County League of Women Voters sponsored a forum on Health Care Reform.

Clallam and Jefferson County Health officer Dr. Tom Locke was the guest speaker, and a panel, consisting of staff from Congressman Norm Dicks, and Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, were there to pass along their employers' views on all aspects of health care, reform, single-payer system, and changes that might happen if Congress passes legislation to bring a new era of health care to the United States.

Dr. Locke called the current system "Unsustainable" and said the "medical-industrial complex" is the "enemy of change". He said most physicians in Washington State are in favor of a single-payer system.

But in questioning later, Norm Dicks assistant Clark Mather, said that idea will probably not fly in the immediate future, and while Dicks strongly believes in a universal health care system, he has concerns about the cost. And one of the factors affecting our area is that Washington State has one of the lowest Medicare reimbursement rates in the nation, which means that many physicians don't want to practice here, and often the supply of doctors is far exceeded by the number of potential patients.

Most of the questions from the audience last night centered on whether people could expect the same level of care as they do now, and would there be rationing of health care.