ASHEVILLE — Carmen Ramos-Kennedy says she's a healthy person who takes care of herself, but her health insurance premiums do nothing but go up. credit: Leslie Boyd, lboyd@citizen-times.com « LAST1/25NEXT »WNC for Change staged a public rally for health care reform 10 a.m.-noon Saturday at Pritchard Park. About 300 people attended. Purchase this photo »Related stories• Hundreds rally for health care reform• Rally for health care reform seeks inclusion of single-payer option “I have a story like millions of other people — I am being priced out of insurance coverage,” Ramos-Kennedy said Saturday while waiting for U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler to arrive at the Westgate shopping center in West Asheville. “Right now, I'm almost at $2,000 a month. That's a mortgage payment. That's my own selfish story. I can't afford to pay much more than that.“It's got to change. It can't go one like this.”Shuler, D-Waynesville, spoke to about 50 people gathered outside the shopping center about support for health care reform legislation. The congressman told the groups it's going to take baby steps to accomplish some tasks to allow the economy to rebound.“Do I see a single-payer system at this point in time? The president told me himself, it's just not the right time,” Shuler said.Shuler said access to health care must be available to everyone. There are four counties in North Carolina's 11th Congressional District that don't have a hospital. Lawmakers must also find ways to use the health care system to encourage people to adopt healthy lifestyles, he added.“Some people will say, ‘You can't tell me to exercise, and you can't tell me what to eat,' but there are probably some ways that we could encourage you to do that,” Shuler said.WNC for Change director Paul Choi said there's strong local support for a single-payer, or government-run, health care system. Choi presented Shuler with a petition of 1,195 signatures collected since June 21 in support of health care reform.WNC for Change is a grass-roots organization that grew out of President Barack Obama's campaign.Health care, Choi said, boils down to a moral issue.“We're here to show people that it's just unconscionable to have 45 million uninsured people in this country as well as millions more who are underinsured,” he said. “Health care is a right.”Earlier Saturday, an estimated 300 people attended a health care reform rally at Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville organized by WNC for Change.Among the speakers at the event were Buncombe County Commission Chairman David Gantt, Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy and Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Leslie Boyd, who was the keynote speaker.Several local physicians and activists spoke about the need for reform and urged voters to lobby their legislators for single-payer or a strong public option.
ASHEVILLE — Carmen Ramos-Kennedy says she's a healthy person who takes care of herself, but her health insurance premiums do nothing but go up.
credit: Leslie Boyd, lboyd@citizen-times.com « LAST1/25NEXT »WNC for Change staged a public rally for health care reform 10 a.m.-noon Saturday at Pritchard Park. About 300 people attended. Purchase this photo »
Related stories• Hundreds rally for health care reform• Rally for health care reform seeks inclusion of single-payer option
“I have a story like millions of other people — I am being priced out of insurance coverage,” Ramos-Kennedy said Saturday while waiting for U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler to arrive at the Westgate shopping center in West Asheville. “Right now, I'm almost at $2,000 a month. That's a mortgage payment. That's my own selfish story. I can't afford to pay much more than that.
“It's got to change. It can't go one like this.”
Shuler, D-Waynesville, spoke to about 50 people gathered outside the shopping center about support for health care reform legislation. The congressman told the groups it's going to take baby steps to accomplish some tasks to allow the economy to rebound.
“Do I see a single-payer system at this point in time? The president told me himself, it's just not the right time,” Shuler said.
Shuler said access to health care must be available to everyone. There are four counties in North Carolina's 11th Congressional District that don't have a hospital. Lawmakers must also find ways to use the health care system to encourage people to adopt healthy lifestyles, he added.
“Some people will say, ‘You can't tell me to exercise, and you can't tell me what to eat,' but there are probably some ways that we could encourage you to do that,” Shuler said.
WNC for Change director Paul Choi said there's strong local support for a single-payer, or government-run, health care system. Choi presented Shuler with a petition of 1,195 signatures collected since June 21 in support of health care reform.
WNC for Change is a grass-roots organization that grew out of President Barack Obama's campaign.
Health care, Choi said, boils down to a moral issue.
“We're here to show people that it's just unconscionable to have 45 million uninsured people in this country as well as millions more who are underinsured,” he said. “Health care is a right.”
Earlier Saturday, an estimated 300 people attended a health care reform rally at Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville organized by WNC for Change.
Among the speakers at the event were Buncombe County Commission Chairman David Gantt, Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy and Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Leslie Boyd, who was the keynote speaker.
Several local physicians and activists spoke about the need for reform and urged voters to lobby their legislators for single-payer or a strong public option.
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