An evening conversation at the ISU Extension Office in Fort Dodge drew a gathering of stakeholders interested in discussing aging, health care, financial security and health insurance.

At the beginning of the conversation, attendees quickly started talking about solutions for the solvency of Social Security. A couple of the ideas included: raising the retirement age, means testing, raising payroll taxes and retraining people (retirement age) to stay in the workforce so more people are paying into the system.

The group also weighed a variety of options for making sure that all Americans are covered with basic health coverage. The group said they felt a government-run system would require too many tradeoffs. The system for health care in Massachusetts (mandatory health insurance for all) was characterized as the closest example of a system that could result in coverage for all (that actually seemed feasible). This type of shared system would require the government, employers, insurance companies and individuals to share responsibility on ensuring basic health coverage for all.

The group was in agreement that something needs to be done to ensure all Americans have access to basic, affordable health care.