Posts Tagged ‘Health care reform’

Tea Party Takes Health Care Message to Kratovil

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

BEL AIR, Md. – Protest signs went up, “Don’t Tread on Me” flags waved and car horns blasted outside Rep. Frank Kratovil’s Bel Air office Tuesday night as Maryland’s Tea Party movement rallied to press for a no vote from Kratovil on the health care bill.

About 200 people came to send a message to Kratovil, D-Stevensville, by rallying outside his Main Street office for two hours.

Tony Passaro, an organizer with the Bel Air Tea Party Patriots, said his group wants to reform the health care system, but not if it means turning it over to more government control.

“We’re just against big government doing health care reform,” Passaro said. “We’re afraid that if you leave that much money and that much power to the federal government, they’ll lose control of it.”

Kratovil, a moderate Democrat who voted against the health care bill passed by the House in November, has said he will vote no if, as expected, the House is asked to pass the Senate version of the bill.

After almost a year of public debate, House Democratic leaders are trying to round up 216 votes to pass the Senate version of the bill by this weekend, which is the most viable way to move the legislation forward after Senate Democrats lost their filibuster-proof majority with the election of Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass.

Kevin Lawlor, a Kratovil spokesman in Bel Air for the protest, said the congressman’s position hasn’t changed; he will vote no on the Senate bill, but will reserve judgment on any proposed fixes that might come later.

When asked about the proposed “Slaughter solution,” a complicated parliamentary tactic that would allow House Democrats to pass the Senate bill without a direct vote, Lawlor said Kratovil is more focused on the bill’s content.

“He’s been in favor of transparency the entire time,” Lawlor said. “In the long run, he knows he’s going to have to answer for this bill.”

–Text by Capital News Service’s Graham Moomaw, video by Maryland Newsline’s Ben Giles, with Moomaw

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Posted in Elections 2010, National Politics | 1 Comment »

Supporters of Health Care Reform Walk from Philly to D.C.

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

If you’ve thought about visiting Philadelphia lately, it probably didn’t occur to you to walk there. But for the members of Melanie’s March, hoofing the approximately 135 miles from Philly to Washington was the only way to show they are serious about health care reform.

The small group of Pennsylvanians rallied with at least 90 supporters at the University of Maryland College Park campus Tuesday evening to encourage Congress to compromise quickly at President Obama’s health care summit Thursday.

Melanie’s March was named after Melanie Shouse, who died of breast cancer after she was unable to afford health insurance that would cover the treatment.

“Everyone that we meet knows a story, has their own story … about how they couldn’t get health care,” said Marc Stier, who organized Melanie’s March. “It’s not a problem for poor people. It’s not a problem for rich people. It cuts across the board.”

Participants in the eight-day walk included friends of Shouse, their supporters, and those with their own stories of health problems as uninsured patients.

Most of the marchers did not walk for a full eight days. There was always a safety vehicle, and some participants went back to Philadelphia at times to go to work.

College Park was the 12th city the group has rallied in since Feb. 17, and Washington will be the last.

Rion Dennis, the political director of Progressive Maryland, told attendees to take out their cell phones and call Congress. He pulled his own out, too.

“Thank [your member of congress],” said Dennis. “And tell them to tell [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid to pass the damn bill.”

Although fewer than 10 people made the walk from Philadelphia, at least 500 have signed up to walk the home stretch from Union Station to Congress.

Advocacy groups have also created a virtual march for those who can’t make it to the capital. This allows the groups to create and send letters to participants’ senators in the individual’s name, telling them to make reform happen.

Those who have walked what would have been a two-hour-and-forty-five-minute drive, according to MapQuest, will arrive at the Dirksen Senate Building Wednesday afternoon.

Members of the core group, who will walk from College Park to Union Station in the morning, will leave from the station at 12:30 p.m. and will be met by Reid and others at the Senate building at 2 p.m.

By Capital News Service’s Rachel Leven.

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Posted in College Park, Health & Science | 1 Comment »

O’Malley: Health Care Reform Necessary to Fix State Budget

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

The state’s ailing budget cannot be cured without first gaining control of rising health care costs, said Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley during a phone conference Thursday morning organized by the Democratic National Committee.

“[Health care costs are] the single largest part of our budget,” O’Malley said, and one that could “crowd everything else out of the picture.”

Maryland  has made $735 million in cuts to this year’s state budget and is searching for an additional $300 million to cut in order to balance the budget when the fiscal year ends in June.

O’Malley cited education and public safety as services that may be at risk if health care costs are not put in check soon.

Speaking Thursday in support of President Obama’s goals for health reform, O’Malley said the state’s health care costs grow at a rate of 7 or 8 percent every year and promise to continue to do so if no changes are made.

“If we do nothing it’s going to be nearly impossible for us to be able to keep up with those escalating costs,” he said.

Maryland Sen. Richard Colburn, R-Dorchester, agreed that health care might play a role in fixing Maryland’s budget, but said it shouldn’t be seen as a cure-all.

“There is a possibility that the health care plan will help Maryland’s budget, but our problems are deep and we’re going to have  to face some tough cuts in an election year 2010 session,” Colburn said. “We have to move ahead no matter what they do in Washington.”

O’Malley praised the federal government for stepping in to help the state at a time when it needs it, comparing the challenge Maryland faces with those of small business owners who also  must scramble to find a way to provide affordable health care to their employees.

“I think the key, the real key, is making sure everyone is covered,” O’Malley said.

- By Capital News Service’s Karen Anderson.

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Posted in Et Cetera, Health & Science, State politics | No Comments »