Health insurance takes center stage at listening tour

About 25 people attended a listening tour held Thursday at the Danville Public Library by a group aiming to organize grassroots support for President Barack Obama’s agenda. But the meeting soon turned into an argument over whether the president’s proposed overhaul of the nation’s health insurance system is good for the country.

Brandyn Keating, Virginia’s state director for Organizing For America, said the tour’s purpose is to gather ideas on how the OFA should organize in the state and in communities all over the commonwealth. The gatherings also include discussion on how to make sure citizens get their voices heard in Washington.

“We’re organizing in every corner of the state,” Keating told attendees.

OFA grew out of Obama’s Campaign for Change, after the group surveyed volunteers to find out what they wanted to do after the election. They said they wanted to continue the grassroots movement and shift post-election priorities to rallying around the president’s agenda and provide input to the White House on issues, Keating said.

“This is a long-term movement,” said Million Fikre, field director for OFA, during the meeting. “We have to build a sustainable presence” to provide input on policies in the future, including those affecting health care, energy, education and other matters.

During the listening tour, about two dozen attendees split into two groups to brainstorm ways to organize locally and connect national priorities with local issues. They also discussed keeping voters engaged and going to the polls, countering criticism of Obama’s policies and recruiting volunteers. Health care reform was a hot topic during the gathering, with all but one person in attendance expressing support for Obama’s proposal to offer a government-run insurance option.

Karen Maute, who lives in Pittsylvania County, challenged attendees to question Obama’s plan and asked them if they really wanted the government telling them where they have to go for health care. The choice is to “either have an honest discussion” about the issue or just buy into something “we know nothing about,” Maute said.

Keating said a health care bill is being debated by three House committees and two Senate committees. She said the president’s priorities in passing health-care reform are providing a public-insurance options and making sure care is affordable, accessible and high quality. But Maute wondered aloud what those words mean when it comes to reforming health care.

Hank Davis, who lives in Chatham and serves on the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors, said the group needs to counter arguments from critics that small businesses will carry the tax burden to pay for health-care reform.

After the meeting, Joshua Norris, who was laid off from his job at Yorktowne Cabinetry last year, said he used his spare time to join the Campaign for Change, which eventually became Organizing for America, to get Obama, U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th, and Sen. Mark Warner elected. He said he wants to see a change in the health care system.

Maute, who voted for Ralph Nader in November, said government should not be making health care decisions. She said meeting organizers didn’t allow her to ask questions.

Keating said Obama’s aim to keep those aspects of the health system that are working and fix those that are broken. Consumers will still be able to choose the type of insurance they want under the president’s plan, she said.

“There are a lot of myths out there,” Keating said.

• Contact Crane at jcrane@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7987.