Burr made the comment to reporters following a "Rural Tour" town hall meeting at Richmond College. He was joined by U.S. Rep Larry Kissell, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
Noticeably absent from the public forum that drew about 600 people were questions from the crowd about health care reform. Reporters were the only people asking about it.
"We could have talked about healthcare if someone asked," Vilsack said.
Burr, who has been a leading critic of Democrat health care proposals, said it was a "good sign" that the White House appeared poised to drop its plan to create a government-run insurance option.
"If for some reason, you got health care reform wrong, where you're going to feel it first and feel it the most is rural America," Burr said. "That's where the health care delivery doors will shut."
But Vilsack said inaction would be problematic. He said that rural communities face high rates, higher health care costs and less access to care.
"I think there is a growing consensus about this," Vilsack said. "Despite all the difficulties, the consensus is the current system is not sustainable."
"I don't care if you are if you are a Republican or a Democrat, you can't have 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product directed towards health care spending and still be competitive in the global market. Something has to be done."
Burr agreed the system needed change.
Burr and other GOP lawmakers have proposed a plan that would raise money by taxing health benefits and use the revenue to give people tax credits to buy their own care.
"There seems to be a willingness to create a lot of different pathways," Burr said. "This is a good sign."
Kissell, who represents Scotland County, did not talk about health care during the press conference.
But Kissell has expressed some concerns with the bill.
While I believe our country needs health care reform, it must not come at the cost of stripping our most vulnerable populations of the care they deserve, he said in his weekly column in The Laurinburg Exchange.
Kissell did say that he was not surprised by the lack of rancor at the Hamlet meeting.
"Having lived in North Carolina’s 8th District all my life and knowing the struggles facing our working families, I wasn’t surprised at all that folks in attendance came not to disrupt, but to speak their mind, learn and listen for ways to improve the lives of their families," he told N.C. Politico "After all, these are hard working, resilient folks that were knee deep in the recession long before much of the nation, and they need solutions not partisan bickering. "
Post a Comment
