Hundreds of concerned citizens attended an AARP/Healthy Washington Coalition town hall meeting at a community center in Shoreline today to hear about proposed health care reforms. Rep. Jay Inslee and Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, both strong advocates for health care reform, moderated a panel discussion, and responded to comments and questions from audience members.
Inslee started out by saying he wanted to dispel some of the myths about health care reform: there are no “death panels” or forced public insurance plans in the works. He said “we can have health care for all,” and also stated that a “robust public option is fundamental to health care reform.” Inslee said the final bill for health care reform has not yet been written, but one current version is HR 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act—what he called the “base bill.”
This bill in its current form, according to Inslee, would: eliminate the “doughnut hole” in Medicare, and cut waste in Medicare spending; prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for persons with pre-existing conditions; impose a surtax on individuals who make over $350,000; provide a public insurance option; and encourage wellness and prevention programs to bring health care costs down.
After Inslee spoke, a panel of community members asked questions. A nurse from Stevens Hospital (who also worked in home health care) talked about several of her seriously ill patients—one who was uninsured and could not afford his $11,000 a week treatment, and another with the same pulmonary illness who was able to get adequate care due to private medical insurance. Would this bill help the uninsured man, she asked? Inslee assured her the goal of the bill was to help the estimated 40 million uninsured Americans get proper medical treatment.
Other comments from the panel included a doctor who wanted a stream-lining of paperwork and administration, and a business owner who wanted to know how the bill would affect him.
Then it was the audience’s turn. Though time was short, some had strong opinions about the subject. A man asked why there was no tort reform in the bill, saying medical lawsuits were driving costs up. Another wanted to know why there wasn’t a provision for lower cost purchase of prescription drugs from other countries.
Inslee started out by saying he wanted to dispel some of the myths about health care reform: there are no “death panels” or forced public insurance plans in the works. He said “we can have health care for all,” and also stated that a “robust public option is fundamental to health care reform.” Inslee said the final bill for health care reform has not yet been written, but one current version is HR 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act—what he called the “base bill.”
This bill in its current form, according to Inslee, would: eliminate the “doughnut hole” in Medicare, and cut waste in Medicare spending; prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for persons with pre-existing conditions; impose a surtax on individuals who make over $350,000; provide a public insurance option; and encourage wellness and prevention programs to bring health care costs down.
After Inslee spoke, a panel of community members asked questions. A nurse from Stevens Hospital (who also worked in home health care) talked about several of her seriously ill patients—one who was uninsured and could not afford his $11,000 a week treatment, and another with the same pulmonary illness who was able to get adequate care due to private medical insurance. Would this bill help the uninsured man, she asked? Inslee assured her the goal of the bill was to help the estimated 40 million uninsured Americans get proper medical treatment.
Other comments from the panel included a doctor who wanted a stream-lining of paperwork and administration, and a business owner who wanted to know how the bill would affect him.
Then it was the audience’s turn. Though time was short, some had strong opinions about the subject. A man asked why there was no tort reform in the bill, saying medical lawsuits were driving costs up. Another wanted to know why there wasn’t a provision for lower cost purchase of prescription drugs from other countries.
One man got up and said the private sector had been doing things more efficiently, and government “wasn’t all that great,” asking why government had to do health care reform. Inslee—who took offense at his remark, saying as a member of government he thought he was smart enough to do a good job at health care reform—said again that the public option was just that—an option. If you don’t like it, he said, don’t use it, use private insurance. But he said to this man “you have the right to chose—but you don’t have the right to deny this lady Ruth (an 85-year old woman in the audience he’d introduced earlier, pictured above with Inslee) the right to a public option.” This man continued to argue against any public option, Medicare, and government programs in general, finally getting shouted down by the crowd before he would give up the microphone.
A couple of others asked what the bill would do to provide health insurance for legal refugees; and whether Republicans have proposed their own health care bill. Several persons also spoke out in favor of a public option in the reform bill.
The people in line to speak were audibly disappointed when the meeting was adjourned before they had a chance to voice their opinions. But afterwards one elderly lady overheard in the restroom wasn’t afraid to speak her mind in regards to the man going on about how bad government is—"boy, I could have just kicked him in the ****” she said.
A couple of others asked what the bill would do to provide health insurance for legal refugees; and whether Republicans have proposed their own health care bill. Several persons also spoke out in favor of a public option in the reform bill.
The people in line to speak were audibly disappointed when the meeting was adjourned before they had a chance to voice their opinions. But afterwards one elderly lady overheard in the restroom wasn’t afraid to speak her mind in regards to the man going on about how bad government is—"boy, I could have just kicked him in the ****” she said.
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