Politics & Government

Woolsey Plans Healthcare Forum at Redwoods

Congresswoman's speech on the impact of healthcare legislation on seniors, followed by an expert panel answering audience questions.

One year ago, federal lawmakers were on the receiving end of heated rhetoric at town hall meetings across the country about healthcare reform during the August Congressional recess.

On Wednesday afternoon, with healthcare reform passed into law March 23, Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, will have another go at it, this time hoping to inform seniors about how the new law will impact them.

Woolsey is hosting a senior health care forum at the Redwoods on Camino Alto at 2 p.m. Wednesday. She'll be joined by a panel of experts to talk about the legislation after some opening remarks by Woolsey. The panel includes Dr. Betsy Thompson, a federal medical officer; Julie Bennett, community outreach specialist; Nina Weiler-Harwell, AARP associate state director, and Martha Boyd, Kaiser Permanente's director of Medicare.

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In August 2009, with healthcare legislation inciting rancorous debate across the country, many federal lawmakers held town hall meetings in their districts and were greeted with vehement protests by those who opposed healthcare reform. At that time, Woolsey drew the ire of some of those opponents for initially choosing to hold a town hall on health care reform via the telephone rather than meet with them in person. She later held a two-hour, in-person town hall in Petaluma on the subject.

In his weekly radio address Aug. 7, President Barack Obama said healthcare reform had already started to produce benefits for Medicare recipients. Obama also said that Medicare beneficiaries who are hit by the so called donut hole - the gap in Medicare Part D drug coverage – are now eligible now for a $250 rebate to help cover the cost of their prescription drugs.

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The healthcare forum is at 2 p.m. at the Redwoods at 40 Camino Alto. For more information, call 383-2741.


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