Posted on 04/02/2010 9:35:31 PM PDT by Born Conservative
In his mission to educate the public on the nation's massive health care overhaul, U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski employed his well-known sense of humor during two Thursday morning stops in Luzerne County.
"My vote was determined on only one thing," he said, leading into his dead-panned joke. "I went down and met with the president, and he said, 'You'll be my first appointment to the death panels.'"
The line drew a laugh from the crowd of more than 100 at the Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce's spring breakfast in Exeter and another chuckle from the about 15 Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center representatives at Kanjorski's Plains Township stop.
"That's humorous for us," Kanjorski told the doctors, "but there's a hell of a lot of people out there who think there's a death panel. We have got to disabuse of that terror."
While Republicans have pushed to "repeal and replace," Kanjorski called for reassurance and positive reinforcement.
The veteran Democrat from Nanticoke whose vote helped President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress pass a massive health care overhaul that extends coverage to 32 million Americans said the public must be educated about the new law to understand its impact.
After speaking in Scranton and Hazleton earlier this week, Kanjorski hit the trail again Thursday to sell health care overhaul, starting at 8 a.m. in Exeter and finishing about noon at the hospital.
At both stops, Kanjorski touted a new health care system he said will lead to a more productive America.
Though the bill's passing included combined legislation that put into question hundreds of Sallie Mae jobs in Hanover Township, Kanjorski said his ultimate vision of a healthier America led him to vote for the overhaul. He also acknowledged some mistakes were likely made during the process and might require fixing.
One of those errors, Kanjorski said, was politicians' failure to educate Americans about the bill before its approval. Thursday, he asked members of the Chamber and doctors to help allay others' fears by explaining the bill, especially to senior citizens.
Kanjorski pointed to tax credits for businesses, the outlawing of denial of coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and an extension for children to stay on their parents' health plans as more reasons to support the overhaul.
Pittston Area School District Superintendent George Cosgrove attended the breakfast and afterward said one of the main reasons he supported health care overhaul boiled down to the children in his schools.
"I don't want to see that somebody has to worry to put a dollar amount on how sick their child is," he said.
At Geisinger, though, Dr. Steven Pierdon, Northeast executive vice president and chief medical officer, wanted to know if Congress had considered provisions to treat the millions who will be brought into the health care system, especially with many doctors opting out of primary care practice.
"They're going to overrun the hospital systems and the emergency rooms," he said.
The new workload, Kanjorski said, will require an additional 40,000 doctors. Training a new doctor can take a decade, Pierdon said, so an expansion of nurse practitioners' practices might need to be considered, as well as encouragement for young physicians to join the ranks of primary care providers.
Tweaks to the system will be necessary, Kanjorski said. Still, he stood behind his vote for health care overhaul, saying he doesn't care if it costs him his job as Republicans seize on fears of rampant government expansion heading into election season.
The congressman simply said he's looking toward a more healthy future and hopes the country can move past the partisanship that plagued the health care debate.
"We have to first knock down some of the misinformation that's been expended over the last year," he said. "Once you get rid of that, then people will concentrate, penetrate on the issues of the law itself and the future of the law. When they get to that, they're going to find out there's nothing scary."
ping
This error was preceeded by the error of the politicians not being educated themselves about the bill.
Let’s hope not: http://loubarletta.com/
How truly stupid are the people in Pennsylvania? We are about to find out come November.
' Oh, good news! I always love to hear about Obama voters being laid off! We knew that the takeover of student loans was a job killer. But it's nice to know that this guy's district has to take a big hit.
Politicians not educated about The Cosntitution or really just ignoring it.
Seniors and baby boomers better start buying burial insurance. Early bird dinners will be much quieter in Florida.
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Since when do BLACKS go to tanning beds? And yes, they are charging the 10% already!
HA Ha! Dhimmi make funny joke. So funny me get all wee-wee’d up.
Excuse me, I have no idea what that means.
Are they considering making nurses doctors?
I mean pass out M.D.s then claim there really isn't a doctor shortage.
A nurse practitioner is similar to a Physician’s Assistant; they both work under the direct supervision of a physician. Giving a NP an expansion of practices probably means that the NP would work solo.
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