Local Democrats yesterday tried to help President Obama recapture the momentum on health care reform lost at vitriolic town hall meetings across the nation this month.

Obama addressed his supporters through a Web forum where he urged them to continue to campaign for reform and shared information to counter attacks from opponents.

Brian Schatz, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawai'i, said the nation is "on the edge of making a monumental change."

"Change worth having doesn't come easy, and nothing is more important to Americans than quality affordable health care," he said. "The forces of the status quo are rallying, and the closer we get to actually getting this done, the more loud and angry the forces will get."

On the Mainland, town hall meetings with members of Congress have served as a platform for both organized and grassroots opposition and many have devolved into screaming matches. But the protests have revealed a level of public anger and confusion over potentially significant changes to health care and have undercut Obama's own campaign-style organizing around the issue.

Local Republicans have criticized the state's congressional delegation for not holding town hall meetings on health care in the Islands.

Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou, who is running in the Republican primary for Congress in urban Honolulu's 1st Congressional District, plans to hold a town hall meeting on health care on Tuesday night at McKinley High School.

"I think there is a lot of concern with the public here in Hawai'i with what's going on with health care," Djou said. "I think it's important to allow the public to air those concerns. Ideally, I would prefer to have it aired directly to our congressional delegation. But the fact is they are refusing to hold a town hall meeting and let the general public air those concerns. I think somebody needs to, so I'm going to step up and do it."

Djou said he favors health care changes but believes the package should include medical malpractice insurance reform and allowing the interstate sale of health insurance to increase competition and expand consumer choice.

Obama has outlined the principles of a health care reform plan but the details of the legislation are still being developed in Congress.

Hawai'i lawmakers have sought an exemption that would preserve the state's landmark Prepaid Health Care Act of 1974, which requires companies to provide health insurance for employees who work at least 20 hours a week.

If lawmakers get an exemption, the impact of any new healthcare legislation would likely be felt mostly among part-time workers and the uninsured.

Obama supports a health insurance exchange where low- and moderate-income individuals and small businesses would get subsidies to help buy insurance from a range of private and public insurers, including a public option offered by the federal government.

Jennifer Diesman, assistant vice president of government relations for the Hawai'i Medical Service Association, the state's largest insurer, said HMSA supports an exemption for the Prepaid Health Care Act. She said HMSA also backs a public option as long as it is financially sustainable and includes adequate payments to health care providers.

"Fortunately, Hawai'i is ahead of the curve because of the Prepaid Health Care Act, in that the overwhelming majority of our community already receives health care coverage from their employer," she said. "We already have gone down this road and a lot of the components they are talking about in health care reform are already in place in Hawai'i."

The rising cost of health care and a lack of access to doctors and medical specialists, especially on the Neighbor Islands, have been the issues driving health care concerns in Hawai'i.

Many doctors have also complained about reimbursement rates from private and government insurers.