Health care reform group sets town hall
BY ROBERT FOX STAFF WRITER RFOX@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM
Oklahomans for Healthcare Reform will have a town hall meeting from 6-8 p.m. Thursday in Comanche County Memorial Hospital’s Oakwood Conference room. Wayne Rhode, one of the founders of the group, said the meeting is open to everyone, including medical professionals and state and federal legislators. Oklahomans for Healthcare Reform is a non-partisan organization that seeks solutions to existing health care problems and to provide Oklahomans a real voice to local and state officials and legislators regarding health care issues in Oklahoma. The group will take a survey at the meeting to gather information about issues people have with insurance, issues with care people have received and what works. Rhode said the meeting isn’t about ambushing the legislators who attend; it’s about identifying what can be done to improve the system, identifying needs and distributing information about existing programs. He said Oklahomans for Healthcare Reform formed earlier this year when “The five founders decided Oklahomans didn’t have a voice in what’s happening with health care.” He said the forum met with success in Noble in July. “Quite a few people and some legislators showed up,” he said. There will be several more town hall meetings around the state before the group returns to Oklahoma City and Tulsa at the end of the year, Rhode said.