The health care bill passed this week in the US House was meant to serve as a Band-aid for a country in which millions of people have lived for decades without basic medical assistance. But the debate leading up to Sunday night’s vote seems to have rehashed old wounds rather than heal them. On Saturday, protesters in the nation’s capital spat on a black congressman and shouted racial and homophobic slurs at a few other lawmakers.

At another rally last week in Columbus, Ohio, opponents of health reform taunted a man with Parkinson’s disease. The event was caught on film.

Bob, the man with Parkinson’s, later responded to the scorn he faced.

For the health of nation, let’s hope that a cure is found for such disrespectful behavior.

For more coverage from Nature Medicine about the lead-up to the health care debate, you can take a look back at the following stories:

· ‘Cure acceleration’ funds woven into health reform legislation

· Value of health interventions underestimated by governments

· Straight talk with…Christopher Murray, head of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.