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Kerry's Healthcare Town Hall
Sep. 3rd, 2009 12:35 amTown hall was pretty good. A large crowd turned out, mostly in support of healthcare reform and the public option. There were a few dissenters, and a few progressives focused on other issues. Most everyone was polite, except the LaRouch PAC Choir, who turned up to sing such fan favorites as the satirical "Hope and Change" and the cheery "Stop Obama's Nazi Healthcare Plan".
I took some photos, which can be viewed here.
The auditorium was filled, and many hundreds (myself included) ended up in overflow seating in the gym. After introduction (from Rep. Mike Capuano and Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone), Kerry led off with a short speech on the issue of healthcare, full of numbers (current and projection), reminding me what a poor public speaker Kerry really is (plenty of numbers, apropos anecdotes, and still a pain to listen to).
The points Kerry emphasized about his priorities for healthcare reform:
1. Allowing people to keep what they have, if they like it
2. Allowing everyone to get the things that make Medicare, Medicaid, and VA Medical good, a public option
3. Having a system that is self-sustaining (no bailouts for the public option... a claim I'm not sure I believe)
4. Having doctors make medical decisions
5. Not allowing insurance companies to drop patients or refuse to renew (how individual insurance plans often bilk customers, if you pay your bills every month, you're diagnosed in December, and you're treated in January, don't expect that last to be covered, you don't qualify for that "new plan" since you had a "preexisting condition")
6. Not allowing people to be denied for "preexisting conditions" (not sure if that was just for the public option or for private, too... either way, that could cause a free-rider problem, but that could be an non-issue, assuming people want to have insurance before they get sick)
7. Limiting changes in insurance premiums
8. Allowing everyone to have a choice of plans
9. Allowing everyone on the public option to have their choice of doctors
The Q+A was moderated by the mayor, with audience members picked by lottery to ask questions (people were given numbers from one deck as they entered the auditorium and the mayor drew numbers from a shuffled matching deck). Again, for the most part people were polite and there was little speaking out of order. Notes on the Q+A follow:
( Abridged But Still Long )
I took some photos, which can be viewed here.
The auditorium was filled, and many hundreds (myself included) ended up in overflow seating in the gym. After introduction (from Rep. Mike Capuano and Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone), Kerry led off with a short speech on the issue of healthcare, full of numbers (current and projection), reminding me what a poor public speaker Kerry really is (plenty of numbers, apropos anecdotes, and still a pain to listen to).
The points Kerry emphasized about his priorities for healthcare reform:
1. Allowing people to keep what they have, if they like it
2. Allowing everyone to get the things that make Medicare, Medicaid, and VA Medical good, a public option
3. Having a system that is self-sustaining (no bailouts for the public option... a claim I'm not sure I believe)
4. Having doctors make medical decisions
5. Not allowing insurance companies to drop patients or refuse to renew (how individual insurance plans often bilk customers, if you pay your bills every month, you're diagnosed in December, and you're treated in January, don't expect that last to be covered, you don't qualify for that "new plan" since you had a "preexisting condition")
6. Not allowing people to be denied for "preexisting conditions" (not sure if that was just for the public option or for private, too... either way, that could cause a free-rider problem, but that could be an non-issue, assuming people want to have insurance before they get sick)
7. Limiting changes in insurance premiums
8. Allowing everyone to have a choice of plans
9. Allowing everyone on the public option to have their choice of doctors
The Q+A was moderated by the mayor, with audience members picked by lottery to ask questions (people were given numbers from one deck as they entered the auditorium and the mayor drew numbers from a shuffled matching deck). Again, for the most part people were polite and there was little speaking out of order. Notes on the Q+A follow:
( Abridged But Still Long )
