Polls across the country show that fixing health care is right up there with fixing the economy when it comes to national priorities.

On Monday, City Club Missoula's November Forum invited an economist to speak on the issue and the University of Montana's, Gregg Davis discussed health care reform from an economic perspective.

He mentioned how confusing the 1,900 page healthcare reform bill is to the public and added that there's also a lot of frustration out there that changes aren't happening now.

The reform won't take place until 2013, and Davis said even that may be an optimistic time line. Davis told Missoula business leaders the crux of the issue is still a question of public verses private funding and operation.

"The big debate is can the private sector do it or how far does the government need to get involved and that's a decision everybody has to make on their own but hopefully with the appropriate facts," explains UM Associate Director of Health Care Policy Care Research, Gregg Davis.

-Allyson Weller Reporting from KPAX in Missoula.