It’s time to listen, not shout or name-call

Which is worse, the shouting going on at some of the town hall-style meetings that members of Congress are holding on health care reform, or the insults being hurled back at those who object to what they see as an over-reaching government interference in their lives? Citizens are yelling over elected officials trying to explain themselves, and senators and congressional leaders are calling them un-American for doing so.

So what’s with the angry voices at these meetings? Is it a manifestation of a new rudeness, an incivility apparent in so many other aspects of our community life? Is it an organized animosity toward bigger government? Is the media’s and the yelled-at officials’ emphasis on the shouting just their way of avoiding an honest discussion of the changes they’d like to see in the way Americans access and pay for health care?

Is the ire a genuine emotional reaction that stems from many of the governed feeling that their representatives aren’t listening? Is there a disconnect between the politicians, who are there to explain the changes that are going to happen, and their constituents, who are there to say they don’t want the systemic revolution they’re hearing about? If the elected reps don’t want to listen, why are they having the town halls? Or is the anger simply something that fills the void when facts are scarce and trust has yet to be earned?

Is the debate a classic American confrontation between those who hold individual liberties supreme and those who believe that the common good trumps all and that fairness demands that all citizens share equally in the nation’s bounty?

When Americans consider their own health care — its quality, efficiency, cost and access — many are satisfied, even if they admit that the premiums are getting out of hand. Others are not, pointing to those prohibitively high premiums, the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, the lack of affordable insurance for the unemployed, the lower quality of care that poor people receive, the high cost of medicine, the expensive tests often given by overcautious doctors to avoid malpractice suits, and the high malpractice insurance premiums those doctors must pay (and pass on to patients).

Those who are not satisfied point to the tens of millions of Americans who remain uninsured. And experts say that for the extremely high costs of care in this country, we get only mediocre outcomes when compared with other countries.

As we have seen for half a dozen national election cycles now, there are two major camps on health care reform. On one side are those who say that Congress should address specific problems rather than scrap the whole system and start a new, massive government-run program. Find a way to subsidize health insurance premiums for the unemployed and working poor who can’t afford it. Force astronomical malpractice settlements back to earth. Cap doctors’ malpractice premiums by government fiat. Let taxpayers deduct all or part of their insurance premiums from their taxes. There, all fixed.

The other camp argues that we can’t pay for those discreet fixes, and that only a comprehensive overhaul of the health care system can bring about a financially sustainable resolution to all of its problems. Only by forcing all to pay something can the government afford to pay the rest for everyone. Only by regulating prices, costs and reimbursements can the government establish and control an equitable distribution of services. They say this great nation cannot allow some to enjoy excellent care while others are denied preventive services and satisfactory treatment only for lack of money.

It’s time for all of us to step back and focus on facts. It’s time for the folks doing the shouting to show more respect to their representatives, and to listen to them. They may learn more about what the problems are and why some solutions are better than others.

For their part, elected officials should show more respect to the citizens who gather at these town halls, stop calling them names and listen to them. They may learn what we, the people, want and don’t want, what we’re willing to give up and how much we value what our leaders say we will gain.

One thing we all know for sure is that if health care costs continue to rise at the rate they have over the past decade, more and more Americans will be unable to afford to see doctors, prevent illnesses, cure what ails and repair what breaks. Solutions must be found that are acceptable to a majority of us. And like everything else, solutions come from listening first and then collectively deciding what works.