A meeting with our Congressman

Today Ken and I made our way up to the Martin's (a local grocery store chain) at Ironwood and 23 for a meeting about health care being held by our Congressman, Joe Donnelly. We quickly realized that was the wrong Martin's, and it was the other one on Ironwood. Whoops! We just assumed it would be the much larger one, and you know what happens when you assume...! We got there a few minutes before it was supposed to start, and the place was already jam-packed--Ken estimated 150-200, and it was a very small space. Congressman Donnelly was a few minutes late, so we had a chance to say hi to my friend Barb who was there taking pictures for the local paper. If I keep going to these rallies and meetings, I'll get to see Barb a lot more than I have lately!

Barb and I wondered what the meeting was going to be like. There was a guy out on the street waving around a couple of pig-shaped signs that said something about pork, and we saw several people in the crowd that had T-shirts reading "Tyranny Response Team." [rolling eyes] We also exchanged a look when one woman started her question by saying, "When I was listening to Rush Limbaugh yesterday...." Yikes.

When Congressman Donnelly arrived, he got a big round of applause, and quite a few of those who were sitting stood up for him. I thought that was cool. Donnelly is a Democrat, and to explain a little about Indiana...it usually leans heavily Republican, although in the last Presidential election, it went for Obama. (Yay, Indiana!) South Bend is very Democrat, though, while Elkhart, the town about 20 miles east, is very Republican. Even among Republicans, Donnelly is well-liked because he is fair, he takes time to listen to people, he is readily available (He told us today that his wife will kill him, but he's in the book...good grief, man, what have you done?!), and seems to have a lot of common sense and a good head on his shoulders. He also seems to be a hell of a nice guy.

The initial plan was to have people talk with him one-on-one to help them with concerns and issues about health care. That got scrapped immediately and he went right to a question and answer session, to be followed by the one-on-one. The crowd was starting to get a little grumbly, and I'd say that was a wise decision on his part.

For the most part, nothing got out of hand, although early on he had to try to get people to hold off on applause--there were several angry outbursts and applause when someone said something people liked. He said, "I came here to hear your opinions. If you try to hold off on the cheers and applause, I'll get to hear more," or something to that effect. It was an anti-health care plan crowd, as well as a very anti-immigrant crowd. That came up several times, and more on that in a moment. There were enough comments about keeping government out of health care that Donnelly had to mention Medicare and the Veteran's Administration programs, run by, you know...the government. Yes, he said, there are problems and inefficiencies, but most people he's spoken to are very happy with their coverage. A few people spoke up and said that they were pleased. One woman said she's had bouts with three different types of cancer, and every day she thanks Lyndon Johnson (who put Medicare in place). Another woman spoke up and said that her two daughters are on Medicaid, and they are NOT illegal immigrants.

An elderly lady had a printout of something she'd gotten online with 51 points of concern, and asked Donnelly about the "mandatory" end-of-life counseling in the bill, and what right does the government have to tell her how and WHEN to die? Donnelly reiterated that it does not state that, it is an optional counseling for those facing a terminal illness or those who want to make decisions about their own treatments. (Ken and I have living wills--do you?) He went on to say that she should talk to his team, and they will address every one of those 51 points. He also reminded people that "just because you get a fax or an email doesn't mean it's true."

A few people tried to extract promises that he wouldn't vote for this or that or the other, and he finally had to say, "I'm not here to satisfy you, I'm here to do what's right for the country." BOO-yah!

One guy yelled, "Americans like our current health care!" My thought was, "Yeah, those who have it. This whole thing is about those who don't."

No one got really nasty, although there were quite a few mutterings, and some people (the old geezers behind us) felt compelled to carry on a conversation the whole time. I felt like saying, "Why did you come here if you aren't going to listen to what he has to say?" I settled for a lot of loud SHHH's. There was a palpable anger in the room, and a couple of times Donnelly had to say, "Listen, I'm not going to respond to those who shout the loudest." You could tell that he was getting a little exasperated a few times, but he's a cool customer.

Oh, and Ken got to ask a question, too! It was about how companies with their own insurance will be able to compete with any sort of public option. Donnelly said that the bill as it reads now is very limited in who can get the public option, if I understood him correctly. In other words, companies can't just ditch the insurance they already have in favor of the public option, that it's designed more to cover those who have no coverage. That was my impression, but he said he would clarify that and send a response to Ken if he'd fill out a card, so that should provide more information. We both shook his hand when we left, and my opinion of the guy increased even more than it already was. I believe he's one of the more accessible legislators we've ever had, and I will make sure to write him a letter expressing my thanks for coming today. I suspect he'll hold another meeting soon in our area, perhaps more of a town hall atmosphere rather than this informal meeting.

As for the coverage of illegal immigrants, Ken and I were talking about it on the way home. I know this won't be a popular opinion with many, but I believe that it would be better to make those who are already here citizens (after passing the citizenship test, of course, and then tightening the borders) and have them pay taxes and use the public health care option. The alternative is that they utilize the emergency room for all illnesses, those that are life-threatening and those that are not, and I can tell you that is a huge cost in health care, much more than preventive care. A woman asked a question about this, and Donnelly said something like, "If someone comes into a hospital emergency room because they're dying of a heart attack, but they don't have insurance, the hospital will treat them. How could they let them just sit there and die?" I'm happy to say that it left the woman speechless for a moment.

That’s Barb taking pictures to the far left in this photo!

I know this is getting long, but I'll sum it up with a reminder that we all need to have a little compassion for those less fortunate. Ken and I are very lucky in that his company offers great insurance benefits; when I worked at the lab, they also had great and very inexpensive coverage. Not everyone is so lucky. One woman said that she works at a grocery store chain here (not Martin's) and last year was diagnosed with cancer. After initial testing, she was told that she had exceeded her benefits, and the surgery she needed would not be covered. We have a close family member who because of numerous medical problems had to declare bankruptcy. There are kids out there whose parents can't get a job that provides reasonable health insurance, and those kids go without needed visits to the doctor for preventive health care or for illnesses.

There are some that say that health care isn't a right. What does that make it? A privilege? How do we define who are the privileged and who are not? How do we evaluate who is worth saving and who is not? How can we deny health care to anyone? I can't pretend to have all the answers, and I believe that there are many things to be worked out in this bill. However, I believe we need to do something to make sure that everyone has access to quality care. If your legislators hold meetings near you, I urge you to go, become involved, and be informed. And please be respectful--nothing gets accomplished when people try to shout each other down.

I'll leave you with a German word that means "to your health." Gesundheit!

You can read Ken's take on the meeting here.