Mason City, Iowa
A large group, including one State Senator and one State Representative and many other active community members gathered in Mason City to discuss financial security and health care issues.
There was a great deal of agreement from the group about health care being a right, but a right that should be earned by active participation in society, for those who are able. The group was also very disgruntled about the rising cost of prescription drugs and the need for the government to step in and negotiate with this industry.
Strong agreement was also shown for the importance of Social Security. A couple solutions were discussed about how to make the system solvent for future generations. These solutions included lifting the age to 67 or 68 for when people draw Social Security, raising the cap and not paying out to billionaires.
The group agreed on the importance of teaching financial literacy, one woman noted that the government needs to be setting a better example by not going into trillions of dollars of debt.
Charles City, Iowa
Participants at the Charles City conversation had interesting stories to share about their experiences with health care and financial security.
One member and his wife had to declare bankruptcy because of egregious medical bills that totaled nearly a million dollars. They asked why they were required to pay such amounts when citizens within other countries had little, if any, out of pocket expenses for similar conditions.
The group reached common ground that the health care and financial security situation in the U.S. right now is dismal, and many were concerned that their children and grandchildren won’t have a Social Security pool to draw from when they get older. A few participants were college age students who also expressed belief that they won’t have access to Social Security when they reach retirement age.
Cedar Falls, Iowa
A group demanding action on these issues joined together for conversation in Cedar Falls. Participants all agreed that whoever is elected needs to work in a bipartisan fashion and listen to the voices of real people when creating policy on long-term financial security and health care.
Some participants in the group characterized the current health care system as a shared system, but they felt businesses have not kept up their end of the bargain, leaving individuals unable to keep up with the pace of the rising cost of health care.
There were a couple of participants in the group who talked about how some farmers have to calculate the sale of their farm with how much money they think they will need to pay for their end-of-life care.
Should end-of-life health care costs be the determinant for when a farmer should sell their farm?
Oelwein, Iowa
An engaged group participated in an afternoon conversation at the Oelwein Community Center.
There was strong agreement about the importance of the need for basic health care coverage for all Americans. There was also an emphasis on the importance of financial literacy in the schools and from parents beginning at a young age.
One nursing home administrator participant discussed how her non-profit nursing facility had recently gone bankrupt. She pointed to the cost of providing health insurance and a matching pension plan for her employees as the major factor for the financial ruin of her institution. Could this happen to other nursing facilities in small-town Iowa? What would happen to seniors that need the services that these facilities provide? What if they cannot find employees because they are not offering health insurance?
Decorah, Iowa
Concerned citizens gathered on the campus of Luther College in Decorah to discuss the issues of health care and financial security.
The group evaluated the three approaches and came to a consensus that the government should not only provide a safety net for all U.S. citizens, but also provide a plan to make healthcare affordable for all. They called for equal protection for fear that the middle class would disappear if such protections didn’t surface. They agreed that the plan should allow for all to have access and should let individuals make choices on which doctors they would go to. The group also believed strongly that government should provide a stronger safety net for financial security and improve the Social Security system to ensure that it will exist for future generations.
One participant argued that if the government were to implement a universal healthcare system, the burden and cost would be lifted from the businesses and individuals, which would allow them to have more to save and spend, and, thus stimulate business.
The group also discussed the question: Is it possible to have a socialized or universal healthcare system and still offer incentives to doctors to provide top medical care to patients?
