Local chapter to demonstrate in favor of public option health plan Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 31 2009 05:01 AM By Hailey Persinger
Killeen Daily Herald

Members of Bell County's Move On chapter want to send a message to Texas' senators: say 'yes' to a public option health plan. The group will convene outside the Killeen Mall today to collect stories from the uninsured, the underinsured and supporters of a federally-run health insurance plan. The 20-person group will stuff a 5-gallon pill bottle with stories of participants' experiences with private health care systems and deliver it to the Austin offices of senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison.

"There's definitely a need and people that need to be heard and I suppose that's the mission of what we do," said Laura Allen, a member of the group. "These are regular people … I'm not a high price lobbyist and these people aren't but here's what they have to say."

Several representatives from the organization will deliver the bottle full of letters to Austin on Wednesday, before the U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on a health care reform bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said could include a public option measure.

A plan that includes such a provision would allow those who cannot access health insurance through their employer to receive coverage from the federal government. Reid has proposed that states be allowed to opt out of the public option, however.

Allen said that with one in four Texans uninsured, the state's senators should consider their constituents when casting their votes. Though she receives coverage through the military, she said she's seen first-hand the effects of inability to pay for insurance.

"I had a friend saying the amount he's paying is doubling next year," she said. "It's things like that. … There needs to be a public option."

Along with several other members of the group, Joan Hinshaw said she will sit outside the mall to welcome those with stories to tell.

The group typically holds events for about two hours but she said members may stay longer depending on turnout.

Like Allen, Hinshaw said she has watched those closest to her struggle with the inability to pay for coverage. People should not be penalized with the health for their inability to pay, she said.

"I've got grown grandchildren that cannot even afford health insurance," she said. "They just keep their fingers crossed and try to stay healthy."

Contact Hailey Persinger at haileyp@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7568.