"We do need a public plan to level the playing field with the
insurance companies," said Rebecca Telzak, a member of Small Business United for Health Care.
McMahon said the House bill is "very much in flux," and that members of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee will begin considering it when lawmakers return in Washington next month.
Because of that fluidity, McMahon is still undecided on the bill.
"It would be less than honest for me to say where the final proposal is going to end up," McMahon
said. He said there would likely be a "push on the House side to get something done by the end of the
year." With health care continuing to be the hottest of hot-button issues in America, McMahon said he
wouldn't hold a public town hall meeting on the subject until he's sure that cooler heads can prevail.
"What I won't do is hold a meeting where a very select few will try to hijack the proceeding because
of some other agenda, or because they just want to yell and scream," he said.
McMahon has met with seniors and other groups about Obama's plan, but has not experienced the
contentiousness seen at gatherings hosted by other House members.
He said that he would hold public forums when more information about the final bill emerges. Said
McMahon, "When I feel that we can have the type of meeting that allows for both sides to be heard,
we will do that."
"By doing this [the proposed public option] , they will bankrupt
the private [insurance] industry," said Dr. Philip Otterbeck, endocrinologist at the State University of
New York Downstate Medical Center.
But McMahon dismissed critics who say that the Obama plan will lead to "death panels" and rationed
care for the elderly.
Page 92 of 179
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