ROCKY MOUNT — U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield attempted to “set the record straight” on health care reform Tuesday during a Rocky Mount town hall meeting that drew hundreds of advocates and opponents of the proposed government overhaul.

(Use arrows above to view more photos) Advertisement

The standing-room only crowd that packed Parker Middle School for the forum seemed evenly divided between those who support President Barack Obama’s plan to reform health care and those who are determined to defeat it.

Opponents of health care reform shouted “no to socialism,” “what about the illegals?” and “read the bill” throughout much of the forum, but otherwise refrained from some of the more intense rabble-rousing that has caught the nation’s attention in recent weeks. Several Democratic lawmakers have avoided hosting such town hall forums during the congressional summer recess.

Butterfield, D-1st District, told the audience keeping the current system would lead to rocketing health insurance premiums, more people left uninsured and little help for small business owners hoping to cover their employees.

An estimated 1.8 million North Carolina residents – roughly 21 percent of the population – have no health care insurance, according to a report by the Center for American Progress. Among those who are covered, premiums increased 75 percent from 2000 to 2007.

“It is estimated that health insurance will increase an average of $1,800 a year in the years to come,” Butterfield said. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is not political talk. This is the estimate of the (nonpartisan) Congressional Budget Office. We have got to get this thing under control.”

Many booed Butterfield, one of Obama’s top allies in North Carolina, as he advocated reform. Others cheered and yelled for opponents to sit down.

Much of the more heated debate over health care reform has centered on whether or not the government should offer a tax-subsidized public option to compete with private insurers and to ensure everyone is covered. Many opponents of the plan, like Maria Regan of Enfield, support free-market health care instead of what they fear would be too much government involvement in the industry.

“I don’t need someone telling me what doctor to go to or how or when to go,” said Murphy, who carried a sign reading “Obamacare = Rationed Care” into the gym. “This reform plan does no good.”

Butterfield said he was willing to debate the merits of reform and a public option, but not before dismissing many of the “myths” about government reform proposals.

Mass e-mails have spread through the Internet in recent weeks warning readers that “Obamacare” would seek to euthanize the elderly, block people from choosing providers and create government organizations to ration care.

The audience erupted early in the forum after an unidentified man accused Obama and Congress of trying to set up a bureaucratic euthanasia panel — referred to as a “death panel” in recent days by former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Larry Herwig, a 61-year-old Vietnam veteran, shouted at Butterfield, alleging any cost reductions in Obama’s plan would come from a provision that cuts off the nation’s most vulnerable from care.

But nothing in any of the proposed legislation would carry out such a grim plan, Butterfield said. The provision that has caused the uproar simply would authorize Medicare to pay doctors for counseling patients about end-of-life care, if the patient wishes. Such sessions already are covered under many private insurance plans.

Butterfield assured questioners, some of whom traveled more than an hour for the forum, that health care reform would not create a single-payer system to abolish private insurance or use federal funds to cover unnecessary abortions or illegal immigrants.

Pushing back against rumors, Butterfield and other Democrats have accused Republicans of sanctioning “misinformation” and “mob tactics” in their push to defeat health care reform.

Republicans have countered, saying the boisterous protests and fears are a reflection of true public opposition to health care reform. A recent poll by Public Policy Polling showed 50 percent of North Carolinians oppose Obama’s efforts, with 39 percent in support.

Jim Murphy, who traveled from Henrico for the forum, acknowledged there are problems with U.S. health care. But he said most of the problems could be solved through tort reform and he feared the Democrats’ plan would just add to the nation’s growing deficit.

Butterfield echoed Obama in saying he would not support a reform package that doesn’t pay for itself and assured those already covered by private insurance that they would not lose their insurance.

Shafeah M’Balia was among a crowd of Butterfield supporters who said they support health care reform because “medical insurance should not be a privilege for the wealthy, but a human right for everyone.”

With the debate over health care reform shaping up as one of the bigger political battles of the past decade, Butterfield said he would work to guarantee the overhaul is passed by the end of the year.

“We have been trying to pass health care reform the past 50 years, but politics and special interests always get in the way” Butterfield said, to a mix of cheers and boos. “We are not just trying to get costs down, but we are determined to provide affordable care to every American.

“We’re going to do that this year.”