It's the big issue facing the nation today -- what to do about health care.

While Congress debates how to extend health coverage to more people and how to make health insurance more affordable, most Americans are living the fears and anxieties of a shifting health-care landscape.

Employers are eliminating their health plans due to higher costs. Millions of people forgo buying health insurance to avoid pricey premiums. Those with insurance, regardless of who buys the policy, know the higher charges for co-pays and the tighter limits on coverage. Seniors worry about the stability of Medicare.

There must be a better way.

Cutting through this thicket is the fourth installment of the Town Meeting Series sponsored by PNC and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Health Care: The Way Ahead." On Wednesday, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Heinz History Center in the Strip District, a distinguished panel moderated by Post-Gazette Executive Editor David Shribman will offer insights to the health-care dilemma and a few creative solutions.

On the panel will be: T.R. Reid, journalist and author of "The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care"; Robert Kormos, M.D., director of the UPMC Artificial Heart Program and co-director of the UPMC Heart Transplant Program; Leslie C. Davis, president of Magee-Womens Hospital; and Mark Roth, a Post-Gazette staff writer who frequently covers topics in the field of science.

While the event is free to the public, you need to reserve a seat by calling 412-263-3850. Then you can be part of the town meeting and a better-informed participant in America's health-care debate.

Cartoonist Rob Rogers does "Rob's Rough," an early look at his work and his creative process, exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.