Phone town-hall session takes on health-care plan

At least 9,000 people were on some part of the call, a spokesman said.

YOUNGSTOWN — U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-17th, told a laid-off school teacher that she’s the reason Congress must pass health-care reform.

Ryan conducted a telephone town-hall meeting Monday. The exact number of participants wasn’t available, but a spokesman said that at least 9,000 people were on some part of the call.

One caller, a city woman who said she was recently laid off because of the consolidation of schools within the Diocese of Youngstown, wanted to know the chances of the reform’s passing and when.

“You are the exact reason we need to pass this bill,” Ryan said, referring to the number of people who lost their health-insurance coverage because of a job loss.

He said he expects the House of Representatives to pass reform in late September or early October, and that will push the Senate to also pass reform legislation.

“My main concern with health-care reform is if we do nothing,” Ryan said.

Health-care costs continue to climb in this country, and those costs are unsustainable, he said.

Rep. Charlie Wilson, D-6th, will host a telephone town hall on health-care reform Thursday night.

Those rising costs continue to eat more and more of a family’s budget and strangle small businesses, the congressman said.

A retired teacher from Atwater who is on medication for high blood pressure and high cholesterol wondered what the health-care reform would do for her.

“It will help lower the overall cost of what you’ve been paying,” Ryan said.

The biggest drivers of health-care costs are the 50 million or so people who have no health insurance, he said. Those people go to emergency rooms for care, and those costs get passed on to people who do have insurance.

A commission headed by the surgeon general will set up a basic plan. Private insurance companies then will be able to offer more care within the exchange.

The basic plan would provide maternity care, hospital and preventative care, he said.

By going in with millions of others, people will be able to get a better rate, Ryan said.

“You will not be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition,” he said.

“Under our health-care reform, no one can deny coverage. Once you’re in a plan, no one can kick you off the plan because you get sick.”

In the exchange, all insurers will be able to compete. Within the exchange will be a private option that allows average people to buy into a Medicare-type program, Ryan said. The public option will be able to compete with the private options.

Those people who have no health insurance now will be required to pay co-payments as part of the plan.

The reform legislation won’t require people to give up their private insurance if they’re happy with it, Ryan said.

“If you like what have, you can absolutely keep it,” he said.

The plan doesn’t cover illegal immigrants or provide federal funding for abortions, Ryan said.

There’s a provision that says if a patient wants to have a conversation with his doctor regarding hospice care or a living will, the doctor will be reimbursed for the time devoted to that conversation if the conversation was initiated by the patient.

“I think this is a good proposal — it’s not perfect. We do have some tweaking we need to do,” Ryan said.