Voters concerned that Carney support health care reform

By TOM KANE

CLARKS SUMMIT, PA — A small but vocal group of voters from the 10th Congressional District gathered at Congressman Chris Carney’s office to ask where he stands on the proposed health care bill that is struggling through Congress.

Carney was not present, and the group met with his district director of staff, Paul Macknosky.

Macknosky would not allow this reporter to attend the session with the voters, so my information came from those who attended.

“Macknosky said that Carney is concerned that the present version of the bill favors urban, younger people,” said John Ilowiecki of Health Care for America NOW (HCAN), a national group that wants to see health care that is best for the entire population of the nation. “He thinks that the reimbursement formula as it now stands is not good for rural areas.”

Carney is a member of a group in Congress called the Blue Dogs, who are conservative Democrats who want to cut the cost of the plan and see the process of passing the bill slowed down.

“He said Carney is very concerned about how much the bill is going to cost,” Ilowiecki said. “He said that the Congressional Office of the Budget has not completely coded the bill to determine what the exact cost is going to be.”

HCAN is holding several meetings with the staff of Blue Dog Congressmen in Pennsylvania to urge them to pass a fair and complete health care bill for all citizens.

“The Blue Dogs in Pennsylvania have to make a choice,” said Marc Stier, state director of HCAN. “Are they going to stand with the Blue Dog coalition and serve the interest of millionaires, while increasing premiums costs of the middle class, or are they going to stand with their constituents?”

Carney is not the only Pennsylvania Blue Dog Congressman who has been targeted by HCAN. The others are Jason Altmire, Kathy Dahlkemper, Tim Holden and Patrick Murphy.

“Altimire, Carney, Dahlkemper, Holden and Murphy have to say unequivocally that they support the key elements of the House bill,” Stier said. “They need to tell the Blue Dogs and us, their constituents, that they support a robust public option and subsidies up to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.

In a subsequent interview, Carney reiterated what Macknosky told the voters. At one point in his comments, he said, “Any acceptable reform plan must protect the individual’s right to keep their own insurance and their own doctor if that is what they choose, and it must not be paid for on the backs of our small businesses or hard-working middle class families.”