HELENA - Staffers for U.S. Sen. Max Baucus got an earful last week at public meetings organized by the senator to talk about health care reform, and one message came through loud and clear.

Yes, we heard plenty from supporters of a single-payer system (in other words, publicly funded health insurance for all), saying it is the best solution to America's health care ills.

Single-payer supporters feel Baucus has excluded them by refusing to consider this as a possible solution, and used the meetings to show their force and make their case.

Yet, I don't think single-payer cheerleading was the message of the day.

What I heard from people, regardless of whether they think single-payer is the way to go, was a simple and earnest plea to Sen. Baucus: Give us reform, but give us something that actually works.

Do something that solves the problems of millions of people without health insurance and millions more than that who can't afford routine care even though they have insurance.

Do something that will control costs, stop the health care profiteering and increase the ranks of primary-care physicians - and don't give us an industry-friendly reform that may make things even worse and more complex than they already are.

The people I saw at packed meetings in towns big and small are fed up with our current system and want something done about it. But I also sensed an underlying cynicism that Congress won't do the job and is too beholden to powerful financial interests to do what's best for average residents.

"You know damn well nothing's going to pass," said Richard Johnson of Philipsburg, mentioning the hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars Baucus and other members of Congress have received from health care interests. "Who is he really working for? That's the answer. He's working for them."

Baucus chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which plans to start writing potentially historic health reform legislation next month. Like many members of that panel, he does receive piles of money from insurance, health care and other business interests.

John Selib, Baucus' chief of staff, heard this type of comment more than a few times last week.

Each time, he politely replied that Baucus "works for Montanans" and is supporting some reforms that health care interests don't like at all, such as forbidding insurance companies from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions, or having a government insurance plan that competes with private insurance, or studying treatments and drugs to see which is most cost-effective.

He also said Baucus has heard from "a lot of people who like what they have and want to keep it," in terms of health coverage and care.

"Maybe you have good health insurance and you like it," Selib said. "If that's the case, you can keep it. Nobody's going to take anything away from you."

Judging from the comments heard at these meetings, that's not a lot of people.

Laurie Henneman of Dillon said that when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she spent way more time than she should have fighting with her insurer over paying the bills.

"I believe that dealing with my insurance for the last two years took more years off my life than the chemotherapy," she said. "Have you heard the theme running through (the comments) here? Stop listening to the stupid insurance lobbyists."

Ron Loge, a physician in Dillon, said that if you ask anyone covered by government-funded Medicare to give that up for private health insurance, you'd get no takers.

He also mentioned a dirty secret about health care reform: If everyone without coverage ends up with post-reform coverage, there won't be enough primary-care physicians to care for them, because of a growing nationwide shortage in this field.

And former state Sen. Dan Harrington of Butte, who attended the Anaconda meeting, said he's fearful the final reforms might resemble the Medicare prescription drug plan - which many have found to be confusing, complex and benefiting primarily drug companies and health insurers.

Time and again, people urged Baucus not to falter, to press hard against powerful interests and stand up for them, to craft a more humane, effective health care system.

Baucus staffers said they'll take the comments back to Washington, D.C., and Baucus, as he gets down to brass tacks on reform plans. And they said Baucus is committed as he ever has been to getting something done. The question, of course, is what will the final product look like? Will it be reform that works?