Having spent decades in the health care field, Joel Fyvolent is passionate about the need to overhaul a system he says suffers from the "sins" of the insurance industry.

The retired medical doctor and former University of South Florida associate professor of medicine kicked off the university's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute's fall Friday Lecture Series Sept. 18 with his thoughts on the ills of our nation's current health care delivery system and the need for sweeping reform.

"I'll try to control my biases, but you must know I'm a liberal in conservative clothes," said Fyvolent, who noted he did not represent the views of the university.

Speaking before a full house at the Westside Conference Center, Fyvolent said health care reform is a complex issue and one that has been a bone of contention for him since he began practicing medicine in the 1960s.

'When I came to Tampa, African-Americans were not allowed in hospitals, and you couldn't be treated (in a hospital) if you had a pre-existing illness," he said. "Also, insurance companies only covered hospital stays for three kinds of illnesses."

In the years since, he has rallied for a revamping of the country's health care delivery system.

One of the concerns Fyvolent has with the current health care legislation is that the media has oversimplified what he considers an extremely complex subject.

"We're drowning in misinformation, and one of the problems is that the discussions are mixing the health care issue with politics," he said. "But what's important to know is that we are currently spending $2.5 trillion a year on health care, more than any other country in the world, and what we are doing now is not sustainable."

Fyvolent said many states allow only two to three insurance companies as a way to curb competition, a tactic Fyvolent said results in hefty health care insurance premiums for most policy holders.

"We're not getting value for our buck," Fyvolent said.

Instead, he favors a universal health care program that costs considerably less because, in his view, low cost plus quality equals value.

"There are a lot of things the government can do ... the government gave polio shots, and that's not an issue anymore," he said. "The status quo won't do it. We need something new, and we need it now."

The insurance companies, he said, should not be considered in the equation.

"Capitalism doesn't work in health care," Fyvolent said. "When was the last time your doctor had a sale?"

Attendee Anne Weber liked what she heard about Fyvolent's proposal.

"Being a doctor, I think he has a good perspective," she said.

Barbara Hildebrand concurred.

"If the current health care system were a train, it would crash," she said. "I used to think it was the doctors' fault, but it's not. It's the insurance companies that have caused this whole mess."

When Terry Lanning, 63, who has Type 2 diabetes, was laid off from his job last year, he decided to open a home-based communications business.

But because of his pre-existing illness, most insurance companies he contacted refused him health care benefits.

"I'm now on a limited plan where I get five visits a year and have a very limited prescription drug policy. A bottle of 30 pills at Wal-Mart costs me $381," he said.

Lanning calls himself a "victim" of this country's "disastrous" health care system.

"It's not right to be an American and have this happen," he said.