Photo by George Lauby Nelson answers a question in front of a "Please Be Courteous" sign.

Photo by George Lauby Afterwards, talking with the North Platte media.

Photo by George Lauby Replying to a questioner

Photo by George Lauby Small part of the crowd

Nearly half of all medical treatments in the U.S. are not appropriate and cutting that waste from the system would pay for health care reform., Sen. Ben Nelson said Aug. 24 in North Platte.

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Nelson faced a standing-room-only, sometimes belligerent crowd of nearly 350 for more than an hour at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds.

He said health care must be reformed because medical costs are skyrocketing far above a person’s ability to pay.

For an excellent related discussion/debate, see the talkbacks to "Nelson to host town-hall, health care meeting“ below this news report on the Bulletin's front page. -Editor.

“Congress has a moral imperative to bring these costs under control,” Nelson said.

But Nelson received a loud and long round of applause when expressed opposition to unfunded government mandates.

The audience applauded often during the hour, including when Nelson said he won’t support government health care for illegal immigrants or funding for abortions.

The audience also clapped approval when Nelson said he single-handedly held up health care reform in Congress, according to Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean.

But Nelson insisted that reform is necessary, saying:

• Health care should emphasize preventive care.

• Medical records should be stored online so doctors can easily check the records when patients are transferred.

• There should be more primary care, because specialized care tends to get fragmented.

• And, everyone should be covered.

Randy Stubbs of Maxwell told Nelson his insurance costs are soaring. Ten years ago he bought a catastrophic health insurance policy that cost $99 a month. Today he pays $507 a month for the same coverage even though he has never had a claim.

In handouts that were given to everyone, Nelson said major health insurance companies have agreed to cover everyone and to “transition away from charging higher premiums to those who are most ill” -- if Congress requires everyone to carry insurance.

Nelson said unsolicited emails are flying around and he cautioned against misinformation from special interests as well as politicians.

“This is an intense issue,” he said. “There is lots of pressure.”

A man in the audience said his grandkids already face huge government debts that will threaten their liberty.

And physician Dr. Wayne Weston of North Platte told the Bulletin afterwards that he doesn’t believe the government can fix health care without adding to the national debt.

“With Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid already in trouble, I don’t believe we’re going to be able to do it,” he said. “It can be argued that it is immoral to put that much debt on our children.”

Reform advocate Laura Larsen of the "Change that Works" project, said afterwards that a better health care system would allow people to chose what coverage they want from a “bronze-silver-gold” type of menu.

Nelson said in his prepared statement that he favors Internet sites where people can compare co-pay premiums, health care networks, the quality and access of insurance companies.

Lively crowd

Many in the crowd also emphasized the word "God" when the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Nelson said he didn’t vote for the second half of the federal TARP payment last winter and he voted against the White House budget with its deficits. For that, he got another round of applause.

To help separate fact from fiction, see PolitiFact.com. The St. Petersburg Times newspaper researches politicians and special interests' claims about health care reform and rates them on a scale from "truth" to "pants on fire."