Residents express displeasure with health care plan at Walden town hall

May 08--Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, received a chilly welcome at a town hall in Elgin early Monday afternoon.

Walden was jeered periodically while discussing the bill Congress passed on Thursday that would dismantle key portions of the Affordable Care Act. The bill now must be passed by the Senate.

A number of people during the town hall told Walden that the plan Congress passed on Thursday will not make it possible for many people with preexisting conditions to still get affordable health insurance. One woman told Walden that an autistic child she has is among those who would not qualify for affordable insurance.

Others in the audience told Walden that the United States should do what a number of other nations have done and go to a single-payer health care system in which the government provides health insurance for everyone.

Walden asked the audience at one point how many would like to have a single-payer health system. Roughly 90 percent of the people in the audience of about 200 people raised their hands.

Those in the audience who support a single-payer system included Jeri Watson, of La Grande. She said there is no need to "reinvent the wheel" when single-payer health insurance systems are being operated successfully by a number of governments.

Walden said that a number countries with single-payer health systems are struggling to keep them afloat, and, in some cases, are providing incentives for those insured by the government to get their insurance through the private sector.

"They can't sustain it with their tax systems," Walden said.

For the complete story, see the May 10 edition of The Observer.

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