On Wednesday night, a group of 15 Harvard School of Public Health students crossed the river to be among the estimated 3,000 audience members at Senator John Kerry's Town Hall meeting in Somerville, MA. The atmosphere at the town hall stayed respectful for most of evening as Senator Kerry made his case for health care reform.
In his first public appearance since Senator Kennedy's funeral on August 29th, Senator Kerry spoke of how the two shared many ideals and fought to win the same battles. However, he expressed hesitation that the public health insurance option, a signature piece of the HELP committee's bill in the Senate and Senator Kennedy's final reform push, was politically feasible.
As a physician, I have been keenly following the debate over health care reform for many months, and I was disappointed by the defeatist tone Senator Kerry used when discussing the public option. Nonetheless, Senator Kerry expressed to the largely sympathetic crowd that he believes meaningful health care reform will be passed in 2009.
Paul Kokorowski (MPH-CLE, '10) said, "After hearing Senator Kerry speak, I am confident that a reform bill will pass. However, I am concerned that costs may not go down or that all Americans won't be covered."
Sylvia Thompson
MPH Candidate, 2010
Global Health & Population
Harvard School of Public Health
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