Sep 3, 2009

BY RICK NEALE and SUSANNE CERVENKA Florida Today

MELBOURNE—The leading House health care bill being considered in Washington, D.C., raises thousands of questions by granting the government “tremendous, unprecedented authority” over states and private insurance carriers, a former Medicaid administrator told a capacity crowd at the King Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday night.

“Realize that for 300 million Americans, we don’t need to turn the world upside-down,” said Dennis Smith, former director of the federal Center for Medicaid and State Operation. Smith was the featured speaker at a packed health care forum organized by U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge. Posey’s district includes Indian River County.

“(Should we) solve the problems for a relatively small number of people that need assistance? By all means, we do,” Smith said. “But let’s not turn the rest of the world upside-down.”

About 2,000 Space Coast residents filled the theater to hear Smith, Posey, other elected officials and health care providers talk about reform measures being considered on Capitol Hill. Another 400 people viewed the event from an adjoining overflow room.

Outside the King Center, more than 30 pro-reform activists lined the Post Road entranceway, holding signs and wearing costumes amid drizzling rain in support of public health care. That gathering was organized by MoveOn.org, Organizing for America and other political action groups.

Originally, the event was scheduled for the Holiday Inn Melbourne-Viera Conference Center Hotel, but a rush of reservations overshot its capacity.

During opening remarks, Posey and Brevard Community College President Jim Drake asked attendees to observe respectful behavior—regardless of differing political viewpoints—during the forum.

Two weeks ago, more than 300 people attended a sometimes-boisterous AARP health care meeting in Viera.

After a question-and-answer session wrapped up the two-plus-hour meeting Wednesday, Posey thanked the audience for its well-mannered decorum.

Smith headlined a group of 10 panelists—including state Reps. Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne, and Mike Horner, R-Kissimmee—who criticized House Resolution 3200 and similar legislation being considered in Washington.

“The bills that are being proposed in Congress are the beginning of a slippery slope to socialized medicine,” Horner said.

Posey said there is no clear picture as to what Congress’ final “official bill” will look like. He said lawmakers should focus on the downtrodden who cannot afford health care and do not qualify for existing assistance programs.

Posey lobbied for health insurance tax credits—$2,000 for individuals, $5,500 for families—to fuel private competition. He also called for tort reform, investment in electronic medical records and a focus on healthy living and preventive care. Several of his points were met with standing ovations from the crowd.

After the panelists spoke, Posey fielded written questions from the audience, taking note cards from an onstage container. One was submitted by Christine G. of Palm Bay, who described herself as “a formerly middle-class person.”

Christine G. lost her job and health insurance, and she recently started working part time for about $220 per week. Since she owns her home, she does not qualify for Medicaid, she wrote, and she cannot afford $1,100 monthly payments for COBRA family coverage. Florida Today did not publish her full name.

“If there is no public option, how can my family afford medical care?” she asked. “P.S. I do not have a large-screen TV, and I drive a 10-year-old car with no A/C.”

Posey advised Christine G. to contact his office so staffers could link her with programs for which she may qualify.

Pat and Larry Cygan of Palm Bay described themselves as “uninvolved in politics.” But the couple arrived early for the meeting, securing seats in the sixth row.

“We are here out of a growing concern with where the country’s going,” Pat Cygan, 58, said. “With this health care, there’s more questions and unknowns than there is known.”

The Cygans, who work in sales, do not want the United States to copy foreign countries’ health care models. They also worry that small companies will have to absorb added health care costs, forcing them out of business.

“I don’t like someone, at my age, telling me what health care I can have,” said Larry Cygan, 63. “(Obama) took longer to decide what kind of dog to get for his family than he did for our health care.”

Outside the King Center, Merritt Island resident Susan Martin dressed as a black-hooded Grim Reaper. She held a gray scythe, a large “Reject” stamp and a sign saying, “Maintaining Status Quo is the Real Death Panel.”

Martin stood amid a graveyard-like grouping of small white crosses stuck in the grass.

“These represent the uninsured,” she said.

Carol Luntz leaned against a walker as she braved the rain outside the King Center to make sure her opinion on health care reform was heard.

“The point is to show that there is support for a public option and public health care,” said Luntz, a Melbourne retiree on Social Security.

They dressed in hospital gowns and waved signs, urging federal lawmakers to keep a public option in ongoing reform talks.

Organizers read off names of people and described their ailments as well as the treatments they cannot get because they do not have health insurance.

Liz Nall, 60, of Melbourne wore an inner tube, pill bottles and a sign saying that she has fallen into the “doughnut hole,” a term used for the coverage gap under the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.

Nall, a high school teacher, has health insurance, but said she and all Americans need better care.

“Unless you are a congressman, you are either underinsured or uninsured,” she said.

“We’re all one terrible illness away from bankruptcy.”

But not all protesters outside the town hall forum supported the public option.

Andrew Osborn, 26, of Palm Bay, said he also wants to see reform, but feared government-run health care would underperform and come in over budget.

“I do want to see health care that people can afford, but are not given at my expense and other taxpayers’ expense,” he said.

This article is reprinted from http://www.floridatoday.com