Crowd gets vocal at town hall meeting on health care

U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire was awash in applause Saturday when he emphatically stated that he is against a single-payer health-care system, one in which a government-run organization collects all health-care fees and pays all health-care costs.

"I'm against a government takeover of the entire health-care system," said Altmire, D-4, McCandless Township."

Then there were other times when he wasn't shown as much love: He was shouted at and interrupted by people who couldn't hold back their anger and were swept up in the emotion of the fierce debate surrounding national health-care reform.

Karen Reeher of Ambridge, referring to government-run health care, shouted: "You want a socialist system, go to Europe."

Altmire's town hall meeting at Ambridge Area High School was one of several he has hosted on health-care reform during the past few months. It came at a time when federal legislators are beginning the process of reconciling several reform proposals into something on which senators and representatives can agree.

Veronica Pivirotto, 40, of Aliquippa finds herself on both sides of the debate: She is a registered nurse who is being treated for multiple sclerosis, and she currently does not have health insurance.

"Really, what's needed is health-care insurance reform," Pivirotto said. She said she has read the proposed legislation and it addresses only "what you could and couldn't have. It's all about limitations. There's nothing about actual insurance reform."

Attendees peppered Altmire with questions on various reform proposals, including portability of insurance plans, preventive health care and caps on malpractice suits.

Altmire said he hopes that a final piece of legislation can be on President Barack Obama's desk by the end of the year.

It was obvious that most of the 250 in attendance weren't satisfied with the reform process so far. When Altmire asked how many didn't support Obama's reform efforts, nearly two-thirds of the audience stood and applauded. Many of them booed when Altmire mentioned a single-payer system.

Altmire said a single-payer system "takes all the good things that work in the health-care system and throws them out. We need to protect what works and fix what doesn't work."

Altmire said there were flaws in recent House proposals that he couldn't support, including an income tax increase and taxes that would penalize small businesses. Altmire also said past proposals didn't do enough to contain health-care costs.

"We need to bring down the rate of growth in health care in this country," Altmire said.

He said he wouldn't support legislation that increases the federal deficit or contained federal funding for abortions. He said he could support a public option if it was "done correctly."

Altmire said House legislation has been improved, though he said he's waiting to see "if it's improved enough." The Congressional Budget Office is expected to release final cost estimates for the reform bill Monday, he said.

At one point in the meeting, Mike Nazarovitch of Economy, who identified himself as a Marine Corps veteran, shouted, "We want our representatives to read the bills and to let the American people read them, too!"

Altmire said he and other legislators "slowed down the process" over the summer, giving legislators and the public a chance to digest the language after it was unveiled in June and to allow forums like Saturday's town hall.

Some of the criticism Saturday against Altmire took a personal tone.

Mary Lewin of O'Hara Township said she volunteered for Altmire's first campaign run because of his universal health-care stance but said she did an about-face and questioned how much campaign money he has received from medical organizations.

Altmire estimated that he has received 10 percent of total contributions from the health-care industry, so "that's hard to say that's why I take the stand I do."

As Altmire was ending his session in Ambridge around 1 p.m. Saturday, nearly 40 people in support of House Resolution 676, a measure that would create a nonprofit single-payer health-care system, braved a chilly rain for a rally in front of the Beaver County Courthouse.

The rally was called "Health Care, Not Warfare" and was sponsored by several groups, including Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees, Beaver County Peace Links and the Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Single Payer Healthcare.