Patrick McHenry challenged on repeated votes against Obamacare
Congressman put on defense by grieving mother and others
When Republican state lawmakers redrew Congressional district lines after the 2010 Census, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-10th) picked up a lot of new constituents in Asheville, NC. At a town hall there on Wednesday, many of those constituents grilled McHenry for having voted 40 times against the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as "Obamacare".
Asheville Citizen-Times reported that Skip Edwards, 63, said discrimination by health insurance companies based on pre-existing conditions - a practice which Obamacare will end beginning in 2014 - forced him and his wife into taking out a high-risk policy that costs them $1,300 a month, and he asked why his Congressman would deny his constituents Obamacare when it will be "better than nothing."
Watch the Q&A with Rep. McHenry:
Grieving mother Leslie Boyd knows personally that "nothing" can be a death sentence for people with detectable and treatable illness and without access to health insurance. Boyd told a reporter with local ABC affiliate, WLOS-TV, before the town hall that she couldn't get coverage for her son because he was born with a pre-existing condition - and he died as a result.
"Without Obamacare, as it's called, 70 percent of people with pre-existing conditions can't get insurance," she said. "70 percent. That's terrible. Because what that does is say, 'You can die.' "
Watch the interview with Leslie Boyd:
Keep Patrick McHenry honest at his Gaston town hall (8/12)
The Congressman says he likes some parts of Obamacare. But he just keeps on voting to repeal or defund the law - 40 votes to against the Affordable Care Act to hand all healthcare decisions back to big insurance companies.
If you live in Gaston County, now is your chance to hold Rep. McHenry accountable!
What: Rep. Patrick McHenry town hall
When: Monday, August 12, 2013 at 6:00 pm
Where: Myers Auditorium, 201 Highway 321 South, Dallas, NC