Health Care forum focuses on opinion

It was a chance for Southeast Texans to have their voices heard on one of the country's most hotly debated issues.

And more than 500 people took advantage of that chance tonight during a health care reform meeting at the Montagne Center in Beaumont.

While other local meetings on health care reform were more about learning, tonight's forum focused on listening.

Dozens of Southeast Texans took the microphone to answer three questions posed by health care professionals and lawmakers in attendance.

The first, what do you 'like' about your current health care plan, prompted responses ranging from quick care to free choice.  The second, asked what people dislike about their current health care plan, and provoked answers like emergency room care and affordability.

The third put attendees in lawmakers' shoes.. name one thing you would include in a health care reform bill.

One person called for tax credits for businesses that offer health care, another wanted to be un-biased to patients with pre-existing conditions and another just wanted the cost outlined in the legislation.

Overall, people we talked to said the most significant part of the meeting was that Southeast Texans voiced their opinions, and were heard.

On a side note, while people were, for the most part, calm and respectful during the forum, at least two people were removed because of outbursts.

The Texas Medical Association will be hosting its next meeting tomorrow night in Houston.  That stop is part of a 15-city town hall tour continuing until the end of September.