Woolsey, Thompson talk health care in telephone town hall meetings

Press Democrat

There were no jeers or boos this week for Rep. Lynn Woolsey during her town hall gathering on health care. No one got in her face to accuse her of supporting euthanasia or socialized medicine.

If one of the participants was carrying a “Death to Obama” sign â€" as was the case during a recent town hall meeting in Maryland â€" you couldn't see it.

That was because the town hall meeting was done by telephone.

As Democratic members of Congress have convened town hall meetings in districts across the country, opposition to health care legislation, both orchestrated and heart-felt, has reached vitriolic levels. Some members of Congress have opted to hold teleconferences on health care instead of face-to-face meetings as a way of avoiding what have become highly-publicized shouting matches and confrontations.

Woolsey, D-Petaluma, said her “tele-town-hall meeting” Tuesday had been planned well ahead of the recent rash of angry town hall confrontations. She said the one-hour telephone forum allowed her to reach more people than would have been able to attend a regular town hall meeting.

When asked if she was avoiding face-to-face confrontations, Woolsey said, “No one can accuse Lynn Woolsey of running scared.”

“The town hall had 7,000 people,” Woolsey said. “We think we covered every concern our constituents have.”

Woolsey, whose district encompasses most of Sonoma County and all of Marin County, said she is not planning a traditional town-hall meeting on the topic.

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, whose sprawling district includes the rest of California's North Coast plus Lake and Napa counties and part of Yolo County, has conducted a telephone town hall meeting and in-person forums. Last week he held a town hall meeting in the tiny Mendocino County community of Covelo and also attended health-care forums in Napa and Yolo counties, his staff said.

The Napa forum at times erupted into verbal attacks on panel members, according to the Napa Valley Register.

Thompson's teleconference drew about 9,000 participants, said his spokeswoman Laurel Brown. He has told constituents that he supports a proposed $1 trillion health care plan as long as it includes a government or “public plan” option that will pressure insurance companies to become more competitive. He currently has no other forums scheduled for the remainder of the Congressional August recess.

Woolsey started her by announcing: “Right now, I'm sitting in my office in Santa Rosa talking with you. It's actually me, this is not a robocall.”

While the forum provided little opportunity for grandstanding, some participants made strong criticisms.

“Really as I see it, we've got a phantom health care plan,” said one Cazadero resident who contended that the country does not have the medical infrastructure to deal with the “50 million” people who would suddenly have health insurance under the House legislation.

Woolsey agreed, to a point.

“The minute the bill is passed, we're not all of a sudden changing everything,” she said. “The beginning steps will be for people who are not covered.”

Woolsey, a strong supporter of a single-payer health insurance system, stressed to several participants that she would support the current proposal in the House as long as it includes a strong public option linked to Medicare.

Another participant asked if the health care bills would raise taxes, declaring “we're taxed so much already, it's pathetic.”

Woolsey told her that: “The only people that would be taxed, if anybody is taxed, would be the super, super wealthy. And that could be individuals earning over $350,000 a year and couples earning over $500,000 a year. Or it may even bump up to $500,000 for individuals and one million for couples.

Woolsey said she was not planning face-to-face town hall forums during the August recess.