Cautious Tone From Congressman Stephen Lynch At Milton Town Hall Meeting On Health Care Reform

Milton MA – About 800 people packed into the Curry College Alumni Recreation Center’s gymnasium this past Thursday to speak out and listen to various opinions on national health care financing reform. From the thunderous applause and loud cat calls at times the gym seemed about evenly split between supporters of a “public option” measure and those who think any change in health care delivery or financing is tantamount to socialism. The event – postponed for a week in deference to the funeral of Senator Edward Kennedy - was sponsored by the Greater Boston Labor Council and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and hosted by Curry College President Kenneth Quiglan. Audience members at the town hall meeting were overwhelmingly gray-haired and Caucasian; suggesting that organizers may need to do a better job at mobilizing younger working and middle class people of color. The draw for the evening was District 9 Congressman Steven Lynch and the opportunity to ask him questions about his support for and opposition to various aspects of the reform bill being offered by President Obama. The Congressman told the standing room only audience that while some reform is necessary to contain costs he would take a “cautious approach” and investigate the working details of any plan. “It depends on what it is how it’s constructed and what it offers to people who might be placed in it ” Lynch told Peggy Ives of Auburndale a Medicare recipient who expressed support for the plan. Representative Lynch who is expected to make a decision soon on whether or not to run for the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Edward Kennedy disputed the idea that a public option would inherently help to lower the cost of private insurance through competition. Lynch who praised Medicare for being “effective ” said it “does not reduce health costs in general.” He also pointed out several times that President Obama’s proposed bill H 3200 would take $500 Billion from current Medicare expenditures in order to keep the cost of the proposed reforms around a Trillion dollars. “This bill…it basically targets $500 Billion in Savings from Medicare that’s how they’re balancing this and saying it’s only going to cost a trillion dollars because the projections are we will be able to save $500 Billion that we’re currently spending in Medicare. So if you’re a big fan of Medicare as I am you need to be cautious and you need to ask more questions about how this public option might work.” Throughout the evening Lynch repeated his call for caution. But some in the gymnasium audience strongly disagreed with Lynch. Hyde Park resident Dominic Bozzotto a veteran union organizer and former head of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union Local 26 blasted the Congressman over his analysis of the Medicare numbers. “Congressman you know when you first ran we endorsed you but you’re scaring the hell out of me ” said Bozzotto. “Medicare Advantage the federal government reimburses those providers 115 percent. By only reimbursing them 100 percent that’s where that $550 Billion over ten years is coming from and you know that!” Bozzotto loudly expressed his desire for a “public option” in the health reform plan. Medicare Advantage helps seniors pay for prescription medicines and other services. OMB Audio: Excerpt from Curry College Town Hall Thursday September 3 2009 including Auburndale resident Peggy Ives Representative Stephen Lynch and former HERE Local 26 President Dominic Bozzotto. Because the gymnasium filled to capacity so quickly scores of people were not allowed to enter the meeting. Standing outside on the chilly evening three groups presented very different outlooks on reform. About a half dozen people each one set of protesters held anti-reform signs and chanted “kill the bill kill the bill.” Another group of activists sang the praises of reform and the public option. And a third made up of supporters of former presidential candidate and agitator Lyndon La Rouche held a large poster of President Obama with a Hitlerian looking mustache drawn on the face. The group stood singing hymns. Inside the meeting speakers went back and forth with Representative Lynch variously attacking and supporting health care reform. At times voices became loud and angry but for the most part the debate was civil. About a dozen Milton police officers kept watch over the proceedings. OMB Audio: Several more opinions from the audience including Catarina McHugh of Somerville Hilda Mund of Milton and Carol Pryor of The Access Project in Jamaica Plain. Bookmark/Search this post with: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Newsvine Facebook Google Yahoo Technorati