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Health care debate hits home
The 300-plus members of the Heritage Hunt 55-and-older community who showed up for Rep. Gerry Connolly's (D-11th) health care town hall meeting in Gainesville last week were not the type to wave signs or yell “socialism.”But that didn't keep them from holding a spirited and lively debate over the proposed federal health care reforms.
"I agree that health care needs improvement, but what scares the hell out of me is having the government do it," said Jane Becker, the first Heritage Hunt resident to address Connolly.
An overwhelming majority of questions posed by audience members were skeptical of government intervention in the health care system.
The most controversial aspect of legislation being negotiated by the House of Representatives centers around a public option for health insurance run by the Department of Health of Human Services. Designed to create competition for private insurers, the public option drew cynicism from the audience.
One of the more telling signs about the audience's resistance came when a man asked Connolly what the government can do to increase competition among private insurers.
Audience members booed not just the public option, but the idea of private cooperatives too, something that is being considered by the Senate Finance Committee.
The biggest applause line of the night came when a man named Frank mentioned the need for tort reform.
"If you want to save money, there are ways to do it without going into a public option," he said.
Connolly responded by saying he personally supports tort reform and thought it would be "intellectually dishonest" to not include it in the discussion of health care reform, particularly in regard to frivolous lawsuits.
There was a catch though.
"It's worth doing," Connolly said, soon adding, "But it doesn't save us much money."
He cited figures provided by the Congressional Budget Office stating tort reform would only make up 0.5 to 2.3 percent of savings. A 2004 document by the CBO states that malpractice suits are worth "less than 2 percent of overall health care spending."
Another person asked what was so "sacred" about accomplishing health care reform this year. Another man named Joe said he felt like reform was "being rammed down our throat."
Connolly explained the odds of getting it done in an an election year would be slim and that reform is long overdue.
He also said he pushed the House leadership to delay a vote until after the August recess by threatening to withhold his support otherwise.
The audience generally received Connolly well, though at times, discussions became contentious due to disagreements.
Connolly told the crowd the Congressional Budget Office projects that savings in the House legislation, coupled with an extra tax on the top 1.2-percent of wage-earners would cover the cost of reform without adding to the deficit.
“No!" howled many audience members.
"Yes. Yes," replied Connolly. "Ladies and gentlemen, we're entitled to our opinions, we're not entitled to our own facts. That's what the CBO said. If you don't like it, go see the head of the CBO."
At least one person in the audience did come out in support of a plan that would insure all Americans. John Brady Jr., a practicing dermatologist, said he favors the idea.
"The last time I read the United States Constitution or the Bill of Rights, I didn't see where we're guaranteed food or shelter or clothing or health care,” he said. “But, if the people of this country want universal health care, which I personally would like to see, then I feel like we should all, all be entitled to the same amount of health care.”
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