Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson hosted the state’s first town hall meeting Monday, Aug 24. The meeting was held in the Stringer Lodge at 1072 Lynch Street and was open to the public.
As the citizens of Jackson filled every seat in the lodge, Rep. Thompson assured them that he would answer every question as best he could. He told the crowd that he was excited about the discussion.
“The crowd is tremendous,” Thompson said. “It shows an interest in representative government.”
The stimulus package, credit card company reform, and the Fair-Pay Act were discussed before the floor was opened for questions.
At the heart of it all was the economy. “This economy, unless we have people working, is going to continue to go down,” he said. The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a Thompson-supported bill, has made 250,000 paid community volunteers. “This teaches our young people that volunteering is good,” he said, “but in the process of volunteering, we’ll provide them with a college education and healthcare.”
Just before the floor was opened for questions, Rep. Thompson made it clear what was in the bill. “There is nothing in this bill about abortion… or death panels,” he said. “Sarah Palin brought it up, but [she] didn’t read the bill or anything else.”
He assured citizens that if the bill is passed, no one will be forced to change doctors and that insurance companies won’t be able to “cherry pick” who they cover. Pre-existing conditions, chronic illnesses and age will no longer be a factor in insurance coverage.
Rep. Thompson defined the majority of those who need health care as hard working citizens with demanding jobs that pay very little. “What we propose to do in this discussion is to come up with a program based on what you make.”
Questions ranged from abortion, to tax increases and even illegal immigration.
Many of the questions were about policies that were not in the bill. The phrase, “It’s not in the bill,” became a popular answer for Rep. Thompson as he tried to debunk rumors of death panels and abortions.
One citizen seemed frustrated and asked why democrats didn’t have a way of dealing with “the lies propagated by the media.”
“Part of what we do here is deal strictly with the facts,” said Thompson. “We want to do away with the rumors.”
Many citizens seemed angry that the majority of the questions were based on hearsay and news media as opposed to researching the actual bill.
“According to Congressional Budget Office… the bill will raise the deficit by over a trillion dollars,” said one citizen who didn’t identify himself. He claimed to have read a lot of the 1018 page bill. “I’m 16… And with all do respect, a lot of your constituents won’t be around in 30 years. How can you load my generation with over a trillion dollars of debt?” he asked.
His question was met with an uproar from the crowd, but Thompson was more than happy to answer. “I’m not supporting raising taxes to fund this bill,” he said. He said that by redirecting the money insurance companies have subsidized the country could finance the new bill without a tax increase. “If you want to be around for your 20th birthday, you’ll join me in supporting healthcare reform,” he said.
Ethel Davis, an employee of AARP and lobbyist for healthcare reform, asked how citizens could inform those absent about the facts in the bill. “Our healthcare system is just like weaning a baby off a bottle,” she said. “These companies don’t want to stop nursing.”
“There’s no substitute for individuals researching and making up their minds for themselves,” said Thompson. Davis, like many other citizens, blamed FOX News for the rumors surrounding the bill.
One citizen, Robert Bents, challenged Thompson to name a successful government-run program. Thompson cited Headstart and Medicare as successful government programs.
Thompson said the bill promotes personal responsibility and education for citizens to make better choices.
According to Thompson, he and other representatives are proposing that all medical records be kept as digital copies in cases of catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina.
Thompson said that the bill would help promote the medical profession through incentives such as scholarships.
Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. is in support of the bill. “I think [Thompson] is doing a great job in allowing people to express their opinion. We are very pleased that the congressman saw fit to have the meeting here in the city of Jackson,” he said.
“There obviously needs to be something done to cure the problems that exist,” said Chokwe Lumumba, Ward 2 Representative. “It has to involve people engaging in providing healthcare for the people. Healthcare is a human right.”
State Sen.Hillman Frasier is also in support of the bill. “You have too many falling through the cracks without proper coverage. I think it’s a step in the right direction,” he said. “[The town hall meeting] is a very healthy thing in terms of democracy.”
Thompson said, “This was an opportunity for you to get an explanation of the healthcare bill as well as what else is going on in Washington. This is what democracy is all about: participating.” He said the other town hall meetings will be equally exciting.
The purpose of the bill is to reduce the cost of healthcare through negotiations with health insurance agencies and to ensure coverage for every American. The bill will not take affect until 2013. It has to be passed in the House of Representatives, the Senate, and, then “if we’re lucky we’ll vote on it,” Thompson said.
“Its absolutely important for the ‘haves’ to help the ‘have-nots.’ When I go back to Washington on September 8, I want to make sure people understand… that we should not have third-world health conditions in America,” Thompson said.
Some of the questions from the audience were:
1. “If you say you are a Christian, are you a good Samaritan when it comes to health care?”
2. “I could not afford healthcare for myself or for my children. I put off going to the doctor. Given that Mississippi always ranks at the top for charitable giving, would you be willing to network with those charitable institutions and churches to create a national working model of private clinics?”
3. “There’s no personal responsibility. Why should I be paying for people who are making terribly poor healthcare choices that render themselves expensive?”
4. “We are concerned about children. We would like to ask that we have one program that covers all children in this country.”
5. “I’m a retired nurse from UMMC. I worked at UMMC for almost 25 years. There was never a day that you could walk the floor and see empty beds waiting on patients. There are only so many doctors. Where are the doctors, where are the nurses, where are the hospitals coming from to take care of this heavy burden?”
To read the healthcare bill go to benniethompson.gov.
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