Crowd tells absent Holden it wants health care reform
Published: December 3, 2009
By John Latimer
Lebanon Daily News
A group of local health-care-reform advocates braved Wednesday's cold rain to gather on the doorstep of Congressman Tim Holden's Lebanon office.
The hardy ensemble was in strong voice and in the shadow of the city's Christmas tree, but they did not come to the 700 block of Cumberland Street to serenade Holden with carols. They gathered to tell the congressman - who was in Washington - that they are disappointed with his recent vote against the House of Representatives' health-care bill. The bill passed, mostly on party lines, by a slim margin of 220-215. Holden was one of only 39 Democrats to vote against it.
Between shouts of "Shame on you, Tim Holden!" and "Health Care Now!" the crowd stood beneath umbrellas on the sidewalk for about an hour listening to tales from those who said they have been treated unfairly by a system which favors insurance-company profits over patient health.
"For-profit medicine has to come to an end," said 84-year-old Richard Slick, a retired English professor who lives in Palmyra. "We want Congressman Holden to take the lead on this and not wait to see what happens."
Steve Dove, 56, a self-employed electronics designer from Mt. Gretna, said a pre-existing condition in his family of four forces him to pay $25,000 a year for health insurance.
"I'm self-employed, and it puts me right to the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to health insurance," he said.
Dr. James Thomas, an emergency-room physician at Reading Hospital, said a system that turns away people without insurance needs to be fixed.
"It is amazing," he said. "We are one of the richest nations in the world, and we rank 37th as far as health-care outcomes. ... I practiced 20 years in England and never saw anyone turned away."
Wednesday's demonstration was organized by the health-care-reform coalitions, Pennsylvania Health Access Network and Health Care for America. The organizations have recently held demonstrations at Holden's offices in Harrisburg and Pottstown.
When reached in his Washington office, Holden said the demonstrations are doing little to change his mind about health-care reform.
"Reasonable people can disagree, but I don't feel picketing and demonstrating are the best way to come to a solution," he said. "I respect their right to do it. But I'm not going to be intimidated ... In my analysis, my vote was made in the best interest of my constituents."
Holden said he supports many provisions in the House's health care bill, like forbidding companies from withholding policies to people with pre-existing conditions. One of the main reasons he voted against the bill, he said, was because of a provision taking $500 billion from Medicare and Medicaid over the next decade to help pay for it.
"My grandmother always used to tell me, 'You don't rob Peter to pay Paul.' And taking $500 billion from Medicare and Medicaid providers ... reduces services to seniors," said Holden.
Wednesday's demonstration was a civil one. When office manager Matt Boyer and another employee closed the office for the night, they were able to walk peaceably through the demonstrators without any confrontations or comments.
Next Wednesday, on National Healthcare Decisions Day, health-care-reform advocates including some who were at Wednesday's protest have scheduled a 5:30 p.m. candlelight vigil in front of the recently opened Volunteers in Medicine Free Health Clinic at 711 S. Eighth St.