U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly on Tuesday told hundreds of Northern Virginia seniors he would oppose any health care measure that “in any way, shape or form does any harm to Medicare,” as he sought to allay criticism of an expanded government health care program.
For the freshman Democrat, the town hall at Springfield’s Greenspring Retirement Community was a chance to speak directly to an influential — but skeptical — voter bloc on the need for health care reform.
The crowd of more than 400 — made up largely of highly educated, white-collar retirees — showed little of the outsized rage seen at other town hall meetings. Many, however, expressed concern over how a public health insurance plan would be paid for, given spiraling federal deficits, or how it would interfere with existing care.
The legislation before Congress “doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Katherine Featherstone, whose husband suffered from Alzheimer’s and died last year. She worried that, under the federal program, she would have lost decision-making abilities over treatment and “some panel of bureaucrats would decide what his treatment would be and whether or not it was cost effective.”
Others spoke favorably and hopefully of reform efforts. Erna Jackman, who said she worked 40 years as a registered nurse, said she believed health care is a right, not a privilege.
Connolly, who said he hasn’t committed to any specific legislation, said he, too, was concerned about aspects of the draft health care bill in the House. But he said he wants bring the 47 million uninsured Americans “into the system,” expand prescription drug coverage and cut the number of families resorting to the emergency room for health care.
“I want to make sure that catastrophic illness doesn’t bankrupt families in America,” he said
Protesters were relegated to the outskirts of Greenspring. A small group of sign-wielding demonstrators said they felt shut out from a town hall held in a private, gated retirement community.
“He’s definitely hiding from us,” said Geraldine Davie, a retired school teacher from Springfield.
Connolly “simply wants to make the appearance that he is listening to constituents, but he doesn’t want to face those who oppose his views,” said John Fisher, a government lawyer from Oak Hill.
Fisher said the current health care proposal “amounts to the first step toward socialism,” and disputed the notion that he and other protesters wanted to dismantle all federal entitlements.
“I don’t think most people out here are in favor of that,” he said. “They feel that we have a health care system that works for 85 percent of the people, and that unfortunately doesn’t cover 15 percent. There are ways to bring those 15 percent into health care coverage without destroying the 85 percent who are happy with theirs.”
Connolly’s staff has said the Greenspring venue allowed him to speak directly to seniors.
