WASHINGTON — The town hall protesters lambasting government-run health care have been getting plenty of publicity, but a Wednesday teleconference featured Nebraskans directing their ire at private insurance and drug companies.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., hosted the midday teleconference to talk to his constituents in Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District about health care. He planned another Wednesday night. He’s held three others in the past six weeks.
More than 8,000 people, mostly Lincoln residents, stayed on the line to listen to at least part of the call, which lasted more than an hour. During that time, 14 people were able to ask questions of the congressman or make statements.
A couple of those on the call stated outright opposition to proposals pending in Congress that include a government-run health insurance plan, referred to as the public option.
One woman said she’s concerned about the prospect of care being rationed for those older than 70 in a government plan.
Fortenberry said that rationing is an issue many people are worried about, possibly for good reason.
He said that under a government-run program levels of care could be determined by committees and not a patient’s hospital or doctor.
“It’s not explicitly saying that, but there are hints of that in the bill,” Fortenberry said.
But several others who spoke had a different perspective.
One 52-year-old woman said she and her husband are self-employed and have seen their health insurance premiums and deductibles go up year after year. She said they looked for another company but her husband was denied coverage because of his high cholesterol.
“All I hear you doing is defending the insurance companies,” she told Fortenberry.
“I don’t think that’s what I’ve done at all,” Fortenberry responded. He started talking about the cause of rising health care costs.
“Our age,” the woman cut in. “Our age. And now we have to start using it (health coverage). I haven’t been to the doctor in 10 years because who can afford to go to the doctor, because I have to cover the $4,000 (deductible) first and keep my premiums up in case something catastrophic happens.”
She said she wants the insurance companies stopped.
“How are you going to make them behave instead of lining their pockets?” she said.
Fortenberry said it’s true that people are worried about costs, but that proposals being offered in Congress would simply shift financing to the government.
“This is not about defending insurance companies. There are cracks in our system,” Fortenberry said. “What we’re talking about is trying to get underneath the cost drivers that have led to these accelerating costs or we’re going to end up simply doing the same thing, except this time government’s going to be paying for it.”
Others on the call also criticized the private sector.
One woman said she objects to “scare tactics” about the rationing of health care. She said health insurance companies already are determining who receives care.
“Health care is rationed in our country now. It’s rationed by who can afford it,” she said. “This is not going to be different.”
Fortenberry responded that the proposals in Congress are disproportionate to the size of the problem.
He said that the debate has not been framed properly and singled out the rise in chronic diseases as the largest factor in increasing costs. He said that by aggressively emphasizing prevention and wellness programs, hundreds of billions of dollars can be saved.
Fortenberry also called for exploring new coverage options for high-risk individuals, possibly coupled with public subsidies, and for expanding community health centers to help provide for “vulnerable persons.”
Contact the writer:
202-662-7270, joe.morton@owh.com
