Kelly steps in at Legion town hall

It technically wasn’t a political event, but Jesse Kelly sounded like a candidate Thursday as he stepped in and took over a town-hall style meeting that originally was supposed to be hosted by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Kelly, who is looking for the GOP nod to take on Giffords next year for the House seat in Congressional District 8, addressed health care in front of a crowd of about 50 people at American Legion Post #66 in Sahuarita.

Giffords, D-Ariz., was scheduled to talk about veterans issues but cancelled the appearance and another at Pima Community College and combined them into one event at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson later that evening.

But the crowd didn’t allow Kelly’s appearance to turn into a political rally. He is seeking elected office for the first time and is more than a year away from the primary. Instead, they asked him and Dr. Tom Purdon pointed questions about health care reform and questioned some of Kelly’s facts.

Kelly told the story of an Oregon woman whose expensive cancer treatment was denied by the state health plan, which he said opted instead to provide drugs for physician-assisted death at a much lower cost.

“There’s your death panel, ladies and gentlemen,” he told the crowd, echoing language used by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and other opponents of proposed healthcare bills in Congress who say they would lead to government bureaucrats making end-of-life decisions.

“I don’t want the government to tell me, tell someone I love, they’re not worth it,” Kelly added. “When we say government takeover, that’s what it is because that’s what it will turn out to be.”Kelly, 28, employed the fiery rhetoric of many of his Republican counterparts to rail against the health care bills, calling the proposal a “monstrosity” and passing around excerpts of one bill that he said deal with end-of-life consultations and taxing people without health care.

While many spectators applauded him, some stepped up to the microphone to chastise him for perpetuating ideas that have been debunked by the White House, the AARP and nonpartisan advocacy groups like FactCheck.org.

“I’m hearing some of the scare tactics that I hear on the news and I don’t think that opens up the door to ideas,” Doug Kile of Green Valley told Kelly. “I’m extremely concerned with that kind of rhetoric.”

In light of what the AARP calls “misinformation” that has spread “at rapid speed,” the group posted an article on its Web site that addresses myths and misconceptions about health care reform.

The article calls claims that the government will encourage euthanasia of elderly and sick people to cut Medicare spending a “false but scary idea” that is “rife with gross — and even cruel — distortions.”

What the bill actually proposes, the group says, is that doctors would be reimbursed by Medicare if patients consulted them about advanced care planning, such as making a living will.

Senators dropped the provision from one bill earlier Thursday, saying it could be misinterpreted or implemented incorrectly.

“Neither the president nor the congressional committees have suggested anything remotely resembling a government takeover of health care,” according to the AARP article.

The closest option is House and Senate health committee bills proposing a national public plan to compete with private insurers, according to the AARP.

“I think it’s scare tactics by opponents of health care reform,” said Cynthia Fagyas, spokeswoman for AARP Arizona, in an interview. “I think they’re trying to frighten people.”

But Kelly said despite what others have said about the bills, he believes the government is driving toward nationalizing health care.

“If it’s scare tactics to shine a light on something, then call it what it is,” he told the town hall. “The more light you shine on it, the more frightening it is.”

Kelly, who served four years in the Marines, said he had bad experiences with government-run care, namely the Veterans Administration.

He blamed the government for high prescription drug and health care costs and said a fully deregulated, free-market system would drive down prices more quickly and more effectively than government regulation.

Larry Kossak, another former Marine who attended the meeting to support Kelly, said the anger about health care stems from long-held distrust of the government.

“We are at a time in this country when government intrusion is escalating and this is just the issue that tipped it over,” he said.

Green Valley resident Tim Dugan, however, said Tricare, Indian Health Service, the VA and Medicare — the latter of which by a show of hands most people in the room indicated they were on — are all fine programs.

“The government can do a good job,” he said. “Don’t put down the government system. We have excellent government systems in this country.”

Chayah Masters, who said she is a registered Democrat, said she hoped the government would force insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions.

“I’m in my 30s and I can’t get insurance because of a medical issue I had 10 years ago,” she said. “You want our money? Fine, we’ll send you our monthly payments, but you have got to insure us. If you get someone that’s sick, too bad.”

Purdon, a Green Valley ob-gyn, agreed with Masters about limiting the influence of insurance companies but said a government-mandated plan is not the way to go because it would lead to rationing of care, another myth the AARP decries, holding instead that the government seeks to prevent denial of care.

Purdon advocated tort reform to “help take care of the excessive damage rewards.” Though most states have already enacted some kind of tort reform, Purdon said it was not “good tort reform,” which is why it did not succeed in driving down health care costs.

dnewhauser@gvnews.com / 547-9749