Post has been updated on January 28 and Jan 31, 2010 with new information from Lou Penrose.
Health care reform rallies sponsored by MoveOn were held at the offices of Rep. Loretta Sanchez in Garden Grove and Rep. John Campbell in Newport Beach. Sanchez has been a supporter of reform to bring affordable health care to the middle class. Campbell has not supported the reforms proposed by President Obama. Campbell has supported a "birther bill" HR 1503 which would require Presidential candidates to prove they were born in the United States. Campbell was also a cosponsor of a House resolution congratulating "investigation" of ACORN conducted by James O'Keefe III and Hannah Giles.
The rally at Rep. Campbell's office featured representatives of MoveOn, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), OC Health March, and Beth Krom's campaign office. Dr. Bill Honigman, a local emergency room physician and PDA activist, talked about the need for real insurance reform that can be brought by a single payer system. He reminded the crowd that single payer health care is still being considered in California and to press on the legislature to make that happen.
A retired teacher from New York talked about her former husband's health care horror story. He was diagnosed with cancer and could not participate in a program to help pay his bills for chemotherapy because he had made $31,000 the year before from his investments when the income limit for the program was $30,000. Because he was $1000 over an artificial limit, he had to pay for his chemotherapy himself and use his life savings to save his life.
Allan Boinus, whose group OC Health March, sponsored an earlier rally in August where over 300 people marched around the building where Campbell's offices are located. OC Health March has been encouraging Campbell's constituents to call his office and track the responses from his staff regarding their questions about health care.
Beth Krom is challenging John Campbell for the seat in the 48th Congressional District. Krom's office had Field Director Nick Anas deliver the following statement:
Those in Congress, such as my opponent John Campbell, who oppose healthcare reform are focused on the wrong patient. They want to keep the insurance industry healthy at the expense of the long-term healthcare interests of the American people. They want to preserve a marketplace that benefits the bottom line of pharmaceutical companies, even if it means that millions of Americans cannot afford the medicines they need to live.
Unfortunately, the focus of the debate has been on the noise in the periphery and not on the substance of the discussion. When Republicans had leadership in Congress, they did nothing to reform healthcare. Today, their plans for healthcare reform are to do nothing and oppose every other idea at the table. If we allow this to happen, we will continue to pay more and get less and millions of Americans will remain uninsured or underinsured.
Healthcare reform is not about socializing medical care. It is about building accountability back into a system that is broken, and providing basic healthcare access to every American. Without health security, every other aspect of a person’s life is adversely affected. Rich or poor, young or old, regardless of race, creed or color, no one wants healthcare access compromised or denied.
Without change, those who can afford healthcare access will have it, those whose health access is tied to employment may lose it, and those without health benefits through an employer will continue to be at the mercy of insurance companies who can deny coverage at will.
If you care about this issue, I urge you to become engaged and educate yourself with non-partisan resources such as www. FactCheck.org. It takes courage to make affirmative change. Courage rarely comes without pressure. Your dollars are already on the table. It is time to reclaim your seat at that table. Nearly nine million Americans have lost their health insurance since 2000. One in six Americans have no healthcare insurance at all. With more than $2.2 trillion spent on health care in America this year, we deserve a better return on our investment. Basic health access for all Americans is in our national interest. That is why I support meaningful reform that makes healthcare accessible for all.
Rep. Campbell's office sent staff member Lou Penrose to meet with the crowd. This was the first time Campbell's office has sent staff to a health care reform rally outside his office. Update: Penrose let me know that Campbell's staff met with Tea Party Patriots/Tea Bagger protestors on July 17, 2009. Penrose provided the crowd with a small plate of bite-sized donuts but was unable to answer detailed questions beyond the talking points about Campbell's position on health care reform. Update on donuts: Penrose let me know that this was the same quantity and type of donuts provide to the Tea Party/Tea Baggers in July 2009. There was no snack food discrimination. Update on "talking points": Penrose says he offered to explain Campbell's proposal, but no one from the rally took him up on the offer. Penrose was also not able to provide dates for an open, free to the public town hall hosted by Campbell. Update: No update from Penrose on this item.
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