Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone on Friday hosted a public forum in Cohen Auditorium, leading a discussion panel on the pertinence of today's health care issues, particularly in the upcoming presidential election.
Five speakers discussed immediate and long-term benefits for local residents of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, a law designed to improve access to affordable health care.
Panelists included U.S. Representative Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), Secretary at the Executive Office of Elder Affairs at Commonwealth of Massachusetts Ann Hartstein, Director of Governmental Relations and Policy for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Dan Adcock, Health and Human Services Regional Director Christie Hager and Associate Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine Raymond Hyatt.
Since the Affordable Care Act passed, each person in Massachusetts has saved $610 on health care costs, amounting to $76 million statewide, Hager said.
"Make no mistake, this is historic change," Hager said.
Hartstein said that as 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 years old every day, the senior population is increasing along with health care expenses. The impact on cost only escalates, as an unprecedented two-thirds of people who have ever turned 65 are alive today.
"We used to talk about a balanced stool that would be there when we got older," Hartstein said. "That stool is a little wobbly now."
Although people frequently fault the government for high overhead costs, with a program like the Affordable Care Act fees are 10 to 25 percent less expensive than the price would be with a privatized system, according to Hyatt.
"The word 'entitlement' has become a bad word in our society," Hyatt said. "It shouldn't be. It really is the 99 percent of us that's affected by this."
Because of the impending presidential election, much of the forum's conversation also focused on the differences between the Democratic and Republican health care plans for the elderly - a topic both presidential candidates have highlighted on the campaign trail.
Adcock said that by selecting Paul Ryan as his running mate, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney chose an uphill health care battle.
Capuano compared Romney's proposed voucher-based Medicare system to giving someone a $1.50 coupon for $3 of milk. Although the policy would partially help people obtain health insurance, it does not guarantee the coverage of President Barack Obama's current plan, Capuano said.
"I think that's a horrendous proposal," Capuano said. "It doesn't make the people who proposed it evil or stupid. But it does make them wrong."
Rather than label Medicare as Socialist - which has previously led to election losses - Romney has said he will reform the program, using different wording for the same mindset, Capuano said.
"Don't fall for their rhetoric," Capuano said. "Their reform will kill the program."
If elected, Romney's proposal would eliminate preventative care and decrease availability of some prescription drugs, Adcock said. Hartstein said she encourages voters to get involved with health care-related organizations if they are interested in blocking such changes.
"If you see health care not how you want it to be, it's your fault," Hartstein said. "You need to get involved."
After each speaker gave an opening statement, Curtatone took questions and comments from several members of the audience. Jacob Wessel, a junior, asked how to get his peers motivated about health care reform.
"There are so few people who know life without Social Security, so it's hard to motivate those to get involved when they can't picture what it would be like without it," Capuano responded.
While some asked for more detail about the Affordable Care Act, several began discussions about the gridlock in Congress and why the electorate votes in certain ways.
"Things won't get done until people vote for those who want to make it happen," Capuano said.
