Manzullo finds friendly crowd for health care reform forum
Everybody wants something done about the cost and availability of health care, but the proposal being pushed by Democrats needs an overhaul before it represents a true solution, U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo said Sunday.
About 175 people turned out for the Rockford-area Republican's town hall meeting at McHenry County College, and many appeared receptive to Manzullo's take on what he described as a "very delicate" issue.
"We're in the midst of one of the most interesting, if not compelling and serious, debates this country has been involved with in a long time," he said.
Just hours after President Barack Obama made his case on several network television shows, a skeptical crowd seemed to agree with Manzullo that the version of the health care bill now on the table had serious flaws.
"I see the Senators and Representatives and the President downplay the opposition, but it's real," Lake in the Hills resident Richard Rizzo said to applause during a question-and-answer session following Manzullo's overview.
The 1,108-page proposal literally was front and center with Manzullo during the two-hour session, as he hammered on nine initiatives he said will make health care coverage more affordable and accessible.
Those include creating refundable tax credits to help low-income people buy health insurance; placing caps on lawsuit damages that contribute to higher costs; and allowing small employers to band together in national associations to buy coverage, for example.
"I would never impose something on you I wouldn't impose on myself," he vowed.
Some feared reform would be an expensive proposition, despite the President's assurance that health care initiatives would not result in higher taxes for average Americans. Others didn't like the thought of extensive government involvement in a new system.
"I do not ever want to force my people to do the public option," said Dale Lewis, owner of a small manufacturing business in Lake in the Hills. She said she pays $24,000 a month for employee health care, not including dental coverage. "This is frightening. Common sense has left Washington. Years down the road, how much will this really cost us?"
Debra Szady of Lake in the Hills said she there was room for both parties to clean up government waste.
"We're sick and tired of watching a bunch of babies bicker back and forth," she told Manzullo.
He responded that reform should be bipartisan but contended that little Republican input has been accepted.
"I know you're frustrated. You have every right to be. So am I."
Manzullo told the audience that he and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin are co-sponsoring a "Shop Act" bill that allows for a modified form of association health plans.
Szady later added that she just wanted politicians to "drop the party line and get to work."
Before the meeting, Cary resident Dennis Drummond and several friends arrived on motorcycles for the event. On the passenger seat of his bike was a replica of a skeleton holding a sign that said, "Obama Care."
"The message is we don't want public health care," said Drummond. "I'd like the President to answer the questions the conservatives have. He's our President, too."