Davis faces rowdy town hall crowd

WINCHESTER, Tenn. — U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., told a raucous crowd of health care reform supporters and opponents Tuesday afternoon that a public option is likely “off the table.”

“I probably won’t support a public option,” he said, as some audience members applauded and others shouted, “Why?”

In response, Rep. Davis quickly said that the bills in Congress haven’t been finalized, and he’s not sure what’s going to be in them. A public option would allow people to buy insurance through the government rather than from a for-profit company.

An audience of several hundred crowded into a small, sauna-like room at the Franklin County Annex in Winchester for the first of seven town hall meetings Rep. Davis will hold in coming days. A number of attendees carried signs with slogans such as “Save grandma,” “Reform now,” “Yes to public option” and “Give me liberty, not debt.”

Rep. Davis listed several other provisions that, if included in a health care reform bill, would lead him to vote against it. He mentioned federal funding for abortions, health insurance for illegal immigrants and euthanasia.

The promise to vote against euthanasia led one audience member to shout out, “It’s not in there!”

That was met with “Be quiet!”

The response to that was “Be quiet yourself!”

Audience member Pat Wiser asked Rep. Davis to explain where illegal immigrants and abortions were mentioned in the bills being debated.

Rep. Davis didn’t confirm that those provisions were in any bill.

Duane Kenerva, an audience member standing along one of the walls, asked Rep. Davis to commit to voting against an employer mandate for health insurance, as well.

“Mandatory health insurance will shut my business down,” he said.

Rep. Davis said he wouldn’t support a bill that required all employers to provide coverage for workers.

When another person asked the congressman what he would support in a health insurance reform bill, Rep. Davis said nonprofit co-ops would help bring down costs.

“I will support any bill that will disallow insurance companies from determining that you have a pre-existing condition,” he said.

Rep. Davis later modified that statement, saying he wouldn’t want someone who lost health insurance to not be able to get it again because of an illness. He said he wouldn’t want people who have never been insured to suddenly jump into a plan when they get sick.

He faced resistance from almost the full audience during an impromptu debate over whether members of Congress get better health care than most other U.S. citizens.

“I don’t have anything special,” Rep. Davis told the crowd. “There’s not a special plan for Congress.”

He said he had a BlueCross BlueShield plan and Medicare, which led to some groans from the crowd.

One woman, Peggy Heyden, directly challenged Rep. Davis’ claim.

“You actually have lifetime benefits,” she said.

She said everyone in Congress should be under the same insurance plan that’s agreed to under any health care reform bill that becomes law.

Rep. Davis agreed to go under that plan, but he continued to argue that he gets no preferential treatment.

“What I would love someone to do is show how my health care coverage is different from anyone else’s in this room,” Rep. Davis said.