At a recent public forum, community members had the opportunity to learn more about single-payer health-care systems.

The forum was hosted by the Single Payer Action Network, Ohio (SPAN), a statewide coalition of organizations and individuals who say they're working to enact fundamental health-care reform that guarantees full and comprehensive access to a full range of medical services.

Insurance exchanges under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) are set to open Oct. 1 nationwide, making access to affordable health care a primary concern for many Ohioans.

Whether referred to as single-payer or Medicare for all, SPAN believes the current market-driven system is not sustainable. Under a single-payer health-care system like Medicare, medical service providers would be paid directly by the federal government.

During an opening presentation, SPAN Ohio Director Debbie Silverstein stressed that the issue of health care and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act evokes very strong emotions.

"We want health care to be there when we need it but what if resources aren't there? Obamacare is a good start but we're not done yet," Silverstein said. "Health care is a basic human need."

Proponents of single-payer systems cite reduced administrative costs in Medicare compared to those of for-profit medical insurance companies. Silverstein noted that since 1970, the health-insurance industry has seen a 2,500 percent rise in the number of administrative jobs compared to a roughly 100 percent increase in jobs for direct health-care providers.

Opponents to single-payer systems argue that Americans without health insurance are not denied access to care, citing federal law that requires hospitals to treat people without insurance.

Speaking in Cleveland in 2007, then-President George W. Bush addressed an effort in Congress to expand eligibility to State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), cited a common argument against government having a larger role in access to health care.

"I mean, people have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room," Bush said. "I mean, think of it this way: They're going to increase the number of folks eligible through SCHIP; some want to lower the age for Medicare to get more people to be a part of a federalization of health care. In my judgment, it would lead to not better medicine, but worse medicine. It would lead to not more innovation, but less innovation."

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Forum asks: Is single-payer the future of Ohio health care?