That’s a good thing, too, because there was plenty to discuss, with Hoekstra admitting as much in his opening remarks.

“Far be it from me what you can and can not ask of somebody who works for you,” said Hoekstra, a statement that elicited a healthy amount of applause from the audience of around 300 inside Reeths-Puffer’s Center for the Performing Arts. “You know, this is a really tough issue (health care),” Hoekstra continued. “I have lots of people come up to me, they give me their stories, their lack of health insurance, problems they’ve run into the system. … I think there is a general consensus across party lines that there are problems with health care in the United States. That there are things that need to be addressed.”

The crowd seemed a fair cross section of the general public, with differing views often being aired to Hoekstra in back-to-back exchanges.

Health care as it relates to illegal immigration invoked some of the strongest reactions of the night. Some addressed Hoekstra directly, saying they did not feel it was proper for the US health care system to pay for people in this country illegally. Conversely, several people told the congressman they felt it a moral imperative to help those in need living in this country, be they legal or illegal citizens.

Hoekstra often strayed far afield of his party’s own official positions, correcting several times misconceptions people had regarding the current proposed health care reform plan, particularly surrounding the amount of time it will take to implement the new plan.

“It’s going to take five years for this plan (to take effect),” said Hoekstra, responding to a comment regarding how swiftly health care reform would take effect.

“Why?” some audience members asked.

“Because that’s what the bill says,” Hoekstra replied.

Uncertainty regarding the true effects of health care reform – what if it has the opposite effect of lower costs, and costs instead shoot higher? – was another popular topic. “It is uncertain what (a reform plan) would do for costs,” he said. “The other thing that is uncertain … is what it would do for quality, for quantity.”

Regardless of whether a health care reform bill passes, one woman’s concern was over how complicated the bills are written, which will almost ensure they will not be read either by lawmakers or the general public.

“Our congressmen are elected to represent us, and they are given these bills that are thousands of pages long that are not readable,” the woman stated. “I would encourage you and other congressmen to say hey, ‘if it’s not … readable, we’re sending it back.’ You can’t vote on something you haven’t read!”

Hoekstra said this fact was one reason he wants to go back through the priorities of any bill to identify six or seven elements that it must clearly address.

“I expect (that any bill) will be thinner,” said Hoekstra. “And when (all the current proposals are combined) will be less than a thousand pages.”