Tomorrow evening is Congressman Jim Moran’s (D-VA) Town Hall at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA. This is the only Town Hall Jim has scheduled during the current recess. Governor (and Dr.) Howard Dean will be joining Jim to answer questions, and it promises to be a very interesting meeting. During the past few weeks, Jim has moved from being relatively silent on his support for a PO, to more explicit support for one. He has appeared on MSNBC supporting the PO and saying how important its presence is in any reform, and he has sent letters to his constituents, including myself, thanking them for visiting him and explaining HR 3200, the House version of Health Care Reform emerging from various committees, and its public option among other features of the bill. What he has not done however, is to explain why he no longer supports HR 676, a Medicare for All bill, even though he co-sponsored it in the past, except to say that it is “off the table,” and also why he will commit neither to voting “no” on any bill that does not provide for the “Medicare for All” solution he supported in the past, nor, at least, to voting “no”on any bill that does not provide for a strong public option plan that can provide meaningful competition for private insurance companies. Without such a commitment, which by the way, would not be satisfied by a commitment to HR 3200, which according to CBO, will not provide such competition, Jim Moran’s support for the PO is mere lip service, since he leaves himself entirely free to sign on to any “reform” measure that the Administration, in its infinite wisdom, asks him to support.
Given this background, I have a question that I think is the most important question that can be asked of him during this Town Hall meeting. Here it is:
Congressman Moran, in the past you’ve indicated your strong support for HR 676, John Conyers’ enhanced Medicare for All bill, and then, more recently, you’ve abandoned support for that bill in favor of the idea that any health care reform bill ought to contain a public option and an insurance exchange “marketplace” that will provide competition for private insurers to lower insurance costs. I’d also like to remind you before asking my question that HR 3200, the House bill, you’ve described favorably in your constituent letter to me, has a constrained public option that will not even be operative until 2013, and also will not, according to CBO, provide the necessary competition for private insurers that will lower costs.
Now, as one of your constituents, I’d like to know whether you will commit to voting “no” on any bill that does not provide for Medicare for All, or at least provide for a public option that will produce the competition you’ve described? And, if you believe you can’t do that, because you have to maintain your independence in the legislative process, then how can I and your other constituents be sure that you won’t be weakening progressive efforts to get a strong public option passed, and that you won’t end up voting for a bill that either doesn’t have a public option at all, or, like HR 3200, has a “fig leaf” PO that won’t provide any real competition for the private insurance companies?
(Also posted at firedoglake.com where there may be more comments)