ARE OBAMA HEALTHCARE TOWN HALL MEETINGS CONSTRUCTIVE, PRODUCTIVE, OR OBSTRUCTIVE?
This is a long post, BUT please read all the way to the end (please). I split it into two parts for easy digestion (smile).
Tonight I attended the Healthcare Teleconference sponsored by the Obama For America Organization ("OFA") hosted by Mitchell Stewart, National Director of OFA. Tonight's Guest Speaker is David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to President Obama. One of the reasons I participated was to discover whether the President Obama Town Hall Meetings being held all over the country during August while congress is on recess, is constructive towards learning and understanding healthcare reform, productive towards gaining inscreased support for the passage of healthcare reform, or obstructive by having the resemblance of a bull fight between shouters for and against a healthcare reform plan in America.
Mr. Stewart introduced himself and opened the healthcare teleconference encouraging continued support of Healthcare Reform and the Public Option. He also thanked those already supporting Healthcare Reform by expressing that OFA and himself was encouraged to continue pushing for Healthcare Reform because of the out-pouring support and the great accomplishments by President Obama since taking office and honoring his promise to America for healthcare reform.
Mr. Stewart explained that many people are going to town hall meetings across the country and that healthcare reform continues to be an emotional issue. This means that persons against healthcare reform also attend town hall meetings and he encouraged supporters of healthcare reform to be understanding that there are a lot of myths in circulation about healthcare reform and many people are worried and afraid due to those myths. Mr. Stewart explained that he signed President's Obama's Declaration for healthcare reform and we are in a fight against insurance companies. The purpose of tonight's healthcare teleconference is to share real stories about why healthcare reform is needed in America, encourage honest dialogue, and to facilitate honest discussions about what worries American citizens about healthcare reform. Mr. Stewart urged each attendee to get involved in their communities by attending town hall meetings and talking to neighbors, friends, and family so that people can pull in the same direction to ensure that healthcare reform is passed into law in the U.S. The floor was turned over to Ms. Sara Orman, a Volunteer in Ohio.
Ms. Sara Orman explained that she became involved in supporting healthcare reform for a couple of reasons.
1. She is a school teacher who has medical coverage; however, she has friends and family who do not have medical insurance because it is not affordable and they suffer needlessly because of that;
2. She has personal knowledge of people who are unemployed suddenly and cannot afford the premiums under COBRA because it is way too expensive. In fact, her husband lost his job and under COBRA, the insurance premiums were not affordable;
3. In addition, her husband has a cancer gene according to the health insurance company that will lead to cancer. Based on that, even if insured, her husband will not be able to obtain coverage for any form of cancer that he "might" develop because it would be classified as a "pre-existing condition" by the insurance company;
4. In addition to that, the Orman's have a 22-year-old daughter who attends college. Their daughter lost health coverage when she turned 22 years old. In order to purchase insurance as a "Sponsored Dependent," it would cost the Ormans $760.00 per month in additional premium costs. They cannot afford that premium for their daughter so she is currently without health insurance. America can do better! America is the "only" country that does not guarantee healthcare to all of its citizens!
5. Because of her personal experience, Ms. Orman visits Congresspersons and shares her story and encourages them to support Healthcare Reform. She speaks at town hall meetings and she talks to her neighbors, family, and friends to favor Healthcare Reform and why it is important for as many people as possible to get involved during August to urge passage of Healthcare Reform.
Mr. David Axelrod introduced himself and spoke about the town hall meeting held in New Hampshire earlier today that received massive media news coverage. He emphasized that the typical town hall meeting is not as obstructive as the one appearing in the news in New Hampshire:
1. Healthcare works well from companies, but not for people;
2. It is important for both the insured and the uninsured to support healthcare reform because healthcare reform will eliminate the "pre-existing" condition exclusions that healthcare insurers use to deny claims;
3. Young college graduates can stay on the family insurance through age 26 and this is a very common issue for families;
4. When people get sick and need their insurance companies there for them, the insurance companies should be there;
5. Out-of-pocket expenses will be "capped" and this will prevent families from bankruptcy and also take the cap off where families would lose coverage;
6. America must be hardy and vigorous in pushing for healthcare reform. There must be a strong alliance with grass roots organizations such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness or Healthcare For America Now, who have an important role in healthcare reform. Town hall meetings should be constructive dialogues and not obstructive and by attending town hall meetings and speaking calmly and respecting each other, these meetings will not be obstructive. We must also share this information with our family and friends during the course of every-day conversations to counteract myths.
- Remember that the media loves to sensationalize so do not be misled that all town hall meetings are boisterous and obstructive. In fact, most town hall meetings are calm and collective and productive. Each side has a right to voice their opinions, ideas, etc. so be respectful of that.
7. Healthcare premiums are growing at a rate of 3 x the rate of wages, the number of small business that can afford to provide health insurance to employees is shrinking and only 1/3 of small business exist today that can offer health insurance to workers;
[Please read Part 2 to the end]
Posted By: agnes levine
Wednesday, August 12th 2009 at 2:11PM
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