HEALTH REFORM PLANS DETAILED

Rep. Gregory Meeks offers insight and answers questions on a Congressional health care reform plan. Class was in session for South Queens community members on Saturday, Oct. 17 at the St. Anthony of Padua Church Hall, as they were made privy to the details of Congress’s health care reform initiative.

Rep. Gregory Meeks and the members of the South Ozone Park Civic Association West joined forces in hosting a public forum to help the public understand what the proposed bill, HR 3200, means to them.

While Meeks described the proposed public health care act as a “historic” piece of legislation that would help drive insurance costs down, he also stressed that the plan was designed to offer citizens a viable public option.

In fact, the Southeastern Queens representative informed the audience that the legislation, as advocated by President Barack Obama, would allow people to hold on to their current plans if they’re satisfied with their medical service.

“It’s important that we pass a bill even if you have health care,” he said.

“If we don’t fix health care, it will be going up $1,800 every year, as it has been. Fifty percent of people that file for bankruptcy do it because of health care. Middle class families will lose their insurance.”

Assemblywoman Michelle Titus was also in attendance to support reform and shared her vision of the plan as a vehicle that would enable “our grandchildren to have a health care system they can survive with.”

In order for the grand insurance overhaul to be legally approved by the House of Representatives, explained Meeks, the committees that have jurisdiction over the proposal must come together and agree on how they want the reform to be executed.

The plan, he continued, would then need to be reconciled by the Rules Committee.

Similarly, the Senate must also reportedly release its own version of the new health care plan before it’s combined with the House’s offering, which will then be reviewed by the president, who’s responsible for signing the legislative act into law.

All parties involved in the decision making process, it was noted, are hoping to reach a consensus on the matter by Dec. 24.

Meeks proceeded to conduct a PowerPoint presentation dealing with the “facts and myths” of public health care reform.

The new option, according to 56- year-old East Harlem native, would challenge the private insurance industry and force it to drive its prices down.

“People are skipping their medication under the current system— they are forced to make choices,” he stated.

Said Meeks: “If you don’t have insurance, you will have the option to put your doctor and not your insurance company in charge.”

To that end, he assured audience members that those with coverage would never be denied service due to growing “too sick,” while also have their co-pays or deductibles covered and their out-of-pocket expenses reduced.

The congressman was particularly enthusiastic about how the plan allows individuals to receive preventive care at no extra cost.

“This is huge,” he observed. “If you can make people healthier by preventing them from getting sick, think of how much money you’ll save on the backend.”

Meeks indicated that the only ones showing resistance to the proposal are insurance company representatives in an effort to maintain their profits.

Others who may oppose the change, he added, fail to come up with an alternative and just say “no.”

The speaker did, however, hear from a few dissenting voices in the crowd during the weekend session, including Community Board 10’s John Fazio who advocated for tort reform as a way to decrease medical expenses in lieu of radical changes.

The Hamilton Beach resident also shared his belief that the government would only end up “short-changing” seniors in order to reduce medical costs.

“We do need competition, but we don’t need a government where we’re all funneled in and we can’t get out. People will be forced to choose an option, but then there will be no option,” reasoned Fazio.

Meeks suggested that it would be appropriate to look into the feasibility of tort reform state by state.

One resident and former police officer asked who would end up paying for the “free lunch” at the end and also predicted that masses of people would be treated like cattle under a public option system.

The federal lawmaker maintained that the reform serves the greater good due to 47 million citizens that presently live without health care, which he called a “tragedy.”

“These are people who lost their jobs. The poor already have Medicaid, this is for the middle class,” he said.