Consumers urge congressman to support a public insurance option at Olympia, Wash., town hall meeting

Yesterday, Congressman Brian Baird, D-Wash., faced an audience of about 1,000 people, many of whom said they favored the adoption of a public option as part of health care reform.

The town meeting was held at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia.

Here’s a summary of some of the questions that were posed and Baird’s responses:

Q. As a cancer survivor married to a longshoreman, what will we do if my husband loses his job or retires and I have a reoccurrence? Also, my son will graduate in a year and he won’t be covered.

A. Baird said HB 3200, the House of Representatives’ main health care bill developed by the House Education and Labor Committee, prohibits denying medical coverage due to preexisting conditions. If workers lose their jobs, they can buy into a private or public option. Low-income people will have the amount they pay adjusted under either option.

Q. As an optometrist with two employees, how can I find coverage for my two employees?

A. Baird said small businesses could buy into large nationwide pools under HB 3200. Tax credits also would be given to small businesses to help subsidize the cost of health care for them. Mental health is covered under the bill, but better dental coverage is needed in it, he added.

Q. Do you support the public option?

A. Baird said he hasn’t made up his mind yet on HB 3200 or the public option. The House wants the public option, he said, but the Senate doesn’t. Coming up with a compromise is the challenge Congress faces, he added.

Q. I want Dudley Do-Right’s plan [referring to the Canadian cartoon character]. Why can’t we have single payer or something close to it?

A. Baird said the Senate doesn’t want single payer. Congress is trying to craft a bill it can agree on, and that is a very difficult task.

Q. What’s going to be provided for women’s reproductive health, including medication and birth control?

A. Baird said federal money wouldn’t be used for abortions.

Q. As a family doctor who’s worked in New Zealand and Australia, I’ve seen that the solution for health care comes when there is a commitment for universal care. I don’t see that commitment from Congress.

A. Baird said he is personally committed to universal health care. He said he believes the commitment to it is stronger on the Democratic side. Some Republicans believe in a different way to get there, Baird said, adding President Obama is committed to universal health care.

Q. How close will the public option be to health care coverage that is offered in Europe and is provided by Group Health Cooperative? Will the new groups own hospitals?

A. Baird said it would vary. The Senate is leaning toward cooperatives; regional coops not a single national one. In Europe, their single payer systems are nationwide. Under the public option, there won’t be cooperatives where you vote for a board of directors to run the group. The people who manage a group would work for the government, and their salaries would be paid by consumer premiums. In the beginning, public option groups would probably contract with existing hospitals.