Elon University students, faculty and staff were invited to attend a deliberative dialogue Monday afternoon about issues in national healthcare costs.
Event participant Jason Husser, assistant professor of political science and policy studies, introduced the event, emphasizing the importance of practicing civil dialogue when discussing hot-button issues.
“This exercise is not just about healthcare in this country, but also about learning a process you can take going forward in many situations,” Husser said. “It is a rare thing to be able to take a hot topic and have civil conversation when many perspectives are involved, which is why events like this are so important.”
The event was originally held in Moseley’s McKinnon Hall, but due to small numbers in attendance, the entire group migrated into the Ward Octagon Meeting Room, where the round-table setting fostered more intimate communications.
Guided by a 13-page packet provided by the National Issues Forums, the conversation centered around three potential options in addressing the healthcare system’s most pressing issues, all of which are byproducts of cost of services, quality of services and access to information.
Option one championed living within one’s means, essentially sacrificing expenses and services, including healthcare, as deemed necessary. The second called for increases in transparency, efficiency and accountability within the healthcare system. The purpose of accountability would be to reach an end to hidden fees, secretive pricing, and indecipherable bills. Finally, option three focused on lowering healthcare costs through increases in education and initiatives aimed at combatting poverty in the United States.
Regardless of the discussed optionS, Mary Morrison, assistant dean of students and director of the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement, urged participants to be wary of thinking of healthcare as one extreme or another.
“Instead of talking in pros and cons, positives and negatives, we should talk about what commends a certain perspective and what takes away from that perspective,” Morrison said. “Dialogues like these go much better when thinking in that context.”
Bob Frigo, associate director of the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement, moderated the event and stressed the need of weighing each option equally as an approach to combatting issues in healthcare.
“It comes down to cost, quality of care, and access to information," Frigo said. "They are the three legs to this stool. This is a multifaceted issue, which requires multiple perspectives and approaches.”
Through the healthcare discussion, many of the student participants were able to better inform to develop their personal opinions on healthcare.
One such student was senior Rachel Ingersoll.
“Seeing the three options and all of their positives and takeaways side by side definitely helped me to weigh each option," Ingersoll said. "But it also helped me understand that each option can be validated in an argument.”