No shouting, no interruptions, no outrage.

Just a calm and respectful discussion about health care reform at a town hall meeting hosted in Lincoln on Thursday by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.

But that doesn't mean there was unanimity.

Pastor Janet Goodman Banks, a supporter of President Barack Obama and delegate to the 2008 Democratic national convention, politely challenged the Republican congressman's opposition to a public, or government, health insurance option.

"Where's the competition against the insurance companies?" she asked.

Steve Larrick, a 2008 Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate, said the private insurance market squanders money now on "huge amounts of red tape."

Fortenberry said the public option alternative favored by Obama could "erode health care choices over time" by eroding the private sector market and lead to unsustainable federal debt.

Red tape insurance costs can be reined in through creation of an electronic "information superhighway," he said.

The public meeting at the People's City Mission attracted about 125 participants.

Fortenberry held a second town hall meeting Thursday night at Lincoln Southwest High School.

"Unprecedented (government) intervention" in the economy has increased scrutiny of the Obama administration's health care reform proposals, Fortenberry said.

"It has magnified the debate," the congressman said.

Public meetings hosted by members of Congress all across the country during their August recess have attracted overflow crowds and sometimes turned into unruly events.

One common concern, Fortenberry said, is that comprehensive proposals to overhaul the nation's health care system are "moving too fast, no matter what side you are on."

Fortenberry said he favors reforms that address increasing costs, improve health care outcomes and "fill the gaps in accessing health care."

The debate needs to focus more on preventive care and wellness, he said.

"We need to put health back into health care," he said, and "protect patient choice."

A number of town hall participants stressed the need to turn more attention to prevention and wellness, including confronting the health risks and costs associated with obesity and smoking.

One questioner raised the issue of so-called "death panels," which some opponents claim the government would use to encourage decisions not to prolong the lives of elderly or frail patients.

Fortenberry said there is "no explicit reference to death panels" in legislation approved by the House.

Any health care role by government should be "life-affirming," he said.

Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.