FARMINGTON – The U.S. health care system is the topic for a public meeting of Western Maine residents at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, in Room 113 of the Education Center at the University of Maine at Farmington.

The center is at High and Lincoln streets.

History has seen reform attempts come and go over the years, according to a statement from Maine HealthCare Reform. The new group, one of many nationwide, engaged in the process of educating and advocating for such change.

Tom Whitney of Paris, a local representative of Maine HealthCare Reform, said the time is long past to act on the premise that health care is a human right.

It’s a matter of urgency now, Whitney said, in view of lost health insurance associated with unemployment, heavy debt loads and businesses increasingly unable to afford rising health insurance costs.

The May 6 meeting will begin with a short video and brief presentation of reform alternatives before Congress. Most of the time will be devoted to discussion and plans for what Maine people can do.

For more information, go to midcoasthealthcarereform.org or pnhp.org, the Web site for Physicians for a National Health Program.