More tele-halls
Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, will host two more telephone town hall meetings devoted to health care reform at 5:50 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. In each hour, Baldwin makes an opening statement, then answers callers' questions. Callers whose questions are not answered during the call may leave a message.
Constituents may call Baldwin's office at 608-258-9800, to get on the call list.
MONROE - Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, held two telephone town hall meetings on health care reform Monday evening.
The "tele-hall" meetings are not a way to avoid irate outbursts seen at other town hall meetings around the county, she told The Times in a telephone interview afterward.
"It's not intended to sidestep anything," she said. "Town hall meetings are as valuable as this."
The tele-hall and the town hall meetings compliment one another, and Congress members need to do both, she added.
Baldwin said tele-hall calls allow different people to participate.
Town hall meetings get mostly retirees during daytime hours, when many people are less likely to take time away from work. Evening hours find families dealing with getting baby-sitters and fixing dinner, she explained.
By calling people who have requested to participate at home, Baldwin said, people "can listen in and continue to make dinner, in their slippers, if they so desire. And they can still ask questions and challenge their congressmen."
Monday's events drew about 4,000 participants each, she said.
During the event, Baldwin said believes the single-payer system would be the best reform for health care.
"If I had the power, that would be what I would support," she said.
But as the debate continues, Congress is not considering a single-payer option now, but rather HR3200, she said.
Still she is dedicated to incorporating the value of a single-payer system in the debate, "advancing legislation that provides choice and affordable options for high-quality medical care, especially for those who have been frozen out."
The tele-hall brought in several questions about the House bill, HR3200.
One caller from Madison asked, "Would it help to tamp down misleading propaganda, if there was a one- to two-page summary, so people could see what's in the bill?"
Baldwin has provided a link to a three-to four-page summary on her Web site, written by the three House committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and Labor, and Ways and Means.
The bill is structured in three parts: Health insurance exchange, intended to give people a "way to shop" for coverage; modifications of Medicaid, covering uninsured children and those below poverty level, and Medicare, which covers seniors; and public health provisions, for community health improvements, Baldwin said.
Another caller challenged Baldwin and her "compatriots in Washington" to explain how public options would give a level playing field to private companies. The caller compared the government to a 300-pound gorilla.
Health care could be "fixed without overhauling it," the caller said, and accused Congress of having driven Medicare into the ground.
Baldwin used Medicare Part D as an example of leveling the playing field, saying it competes side-by side with private providers of prescription drugs and is "wildly popular."
"It's a microcosm of what we're setting up," she said.
She disagreed with the caller on the success of government programs. Such programs as Medicare and Veterans Affairs medical care are successful programs, and remain so by cutting out administrative and overhead expenses and spending more money directly on medical care for the patients, she said.
Baldwin also corrected what she said was misinformation about what was in the health care bill. On the question of whether the bill limits the number of children a family may have, Baldwin said she has never heard the question before and has never seen anything or been aware of any provisions in the bill or proposed on the issue.
She also explained the "end-of life" counseling in the bill has been misconstrued.
The added provision concerned "general education and outreach regarding living wills and durable powers of attorney," she said. "It also relates to allowing physicians to be compensated if they talk with a patient, if they request, about end of life issues."
Such counseling by physicians, which can take 10 to 15 minutes, cannot be billed (to insurance), she said.
Despite a few contentious periods during the tele-hall, Baldwin remained calm and polite in all her answers, thanking callers for their concerns and questions.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, will host two more telephone town hall meetings devoted to health care reform at 5:50 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. In each hour, Baldwin makes an opening statement, then answers callers' questions. Callers whose questions are not answered during the call may leave a message.
Constituents may call Baldwin's office at 608-258-9800, to get on the call list.
The "tele-hall" meetings are not a way to avoid irate outbursts seen at other town hall meetings around the county, she told The Times in a telephone interview afterward.
"It's not intended to sidestep anything," she said. "Town hall meetings are as valuable as this."
The tele-hall and the town hall meetings compliment one another, and Congress members need to do both, she added.
Baldwin said tele-hall calls allow different people to participate.
Town hall meetings get mostly retirees during daytime hours, when many people are less likely to take time away from work. Evening hours find families dealing with getting baby-sitters and fixing dinner, she explained.
By calling people who have requested to participate at home, Baldwin said, people "can listen in and continue to make dinner, in their slippers, if they so desire. And they can still ask questions and challenge their congressmen."
Monday's events drew about 4,000 participants each, she said.
During the event, Baldwin said believes the single-payer system would be the best reform for health care.
"If I had the power, that would be what I would support," she said.
But as the debate continues, Congress is not considering a single-payer option now, but rather HR3200, she said.
Still she is dedicated to incorporating the value of a single-payer system in the debate, "advancing legislation that provides choice and affordable options for high-quality medical care, especially for those who have been frozen out."
The tele-hall brought in several questions about the House bill, HR3200.
One caller from Madison asked, "Would it help to tamp down misleading propaganda, if there was a one- to two-page summary, so people could see what's in the bill?"
Baldwin has provided a link to a three-to four-page summary on her Web site, written by the three House committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and Labor, and Ways and Means.
The bill is structured in three parts: Health insurance exchange, intended to give people a "way to shop" for coverage; modifications of Medicaid, covering uninsured children and those below poverty level, and Medicare, which covers seniors; and public health provisions, for community health improvements, Baldwin said.
Another caller challenged Baldwin and her "compatriots in Washington" to explain how public options would give a level playing field to private companies. The caller compared the government to a 300-pound gorilla.
Health care could be "fixed without overhauling it," the caller said, and accused Congress of having driven Medicare into the ground.
Baldwin used Medicare Part D as an example of leveling the playing field, saying it competes side-by side with private providers of prescription drugs and is "wildly popular."
"It's a microcosm of what we're setting up," she said.
She disagreed with the caller on the success of government programs. Such programs as Medicare and Veterans Affairs medical care are successful programs, and remain so by cutting out administrative and overhead expenses and spending more money directly on medical care for the patients, she said.
Baldwin also corrected what she said was misinformation about what was in the health care bill. On the question of whether the bill limits the number of children a family may have, Baldwin said she has never heard the question before and has never seen anything or been aware of any provisions in the bill or proposed on the issue.
She also explained the "end-of life" counseling in the bill has been misconstrued.
The added provision concerned "general education and outreach regarding living wills and durable powers of attorney," she said. "It also relates to allowing physicians to be compensated if they talk with a patient, if they request, about end of life issues."
Such counseling by physicians, which can take 10 to 15 minutes, cannot be billed (to insurance), she said.
Despite a few contentious periods during the tele-hall, Baldwin remained calm and polite in all her answers, thanking callers for their concerns and questions.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, will host two more telephone town hall meetings devoted to health care reform at 5:50 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. In each hour, Baldwin makes an opening statement, then answers callers' questions. Callers whose questions are not answered during the call may leave a message.
Constituents may call Baldwin's office at 608-258-9800, to get on the call list.