Jim Patrick, right, of Carterville, and Larry Morse, of Marion, participate with about a dozen other citizens in a protest against the health care bill Wednesday on West Cherry Street. Patrick, the former mayor of Crainville, said he does not support government control. “I’m here today because I can see us losing our freedoms,” he said. - - Genna Ord | Daily Egyptian
Carl Dasenborck has a message for U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., regarding the health care bill: “Just say no.”
Those were the words on Dasenborck’s hand-drawn sign, which he held facing southbound traffic on U.S. Highway 51 outside of Costello’s office in Carbondale Wednesday. Dasenborck and about a dozen other citizens in opposition to the federal health care reform bill gathered to express their annoyance with what they called “deficit spending” and an unnecessary modification of the health care system.
Protesters said Costello has a key vote in the fate of the bill, which is expected to be decided on this weekend.
Costello voted in favor of the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act Feb. 24, a bill that would no longer shield health insurance companies from legal accountability for price fixing and blocking the formation of new companies.
“I have long been a supporter of this and other policies that help increase competition in the health insurance industry,” Costello stated in a press release.
Amid the noise of motorists honking both in support and opposition of the protesters — one man yelled from a dump truck “I need health insurance!” as he drove by — Dasenborck recounted his open-heart surgery experience at Carbondale’s Memorial Hospital. He said he received the best treatment possible from the staff and Humana, his Medicare Advantage insurance provider.
“My Advantage insurance provided the health care I needed above expectations,” Dasenborck said. “Our president wants to get rid of the Advantage program.”
Jim Patrick, a retired state employee, said President Barack Obama’s policies would create a “banana republic” in which citizens would have no rights.
“We’ve got to do something about this crazy spending … we’ll be back in the dark ages,” Patrick said.
Larry Morse, of the firearms instruction group Heartland Training, leaned on a sign that read “Social Security and Medicare broke — Health care?”
“We need health care reform. But … to tell me I’m going to get fined or go to jail if I don’t sign up for some government program … isn’t the way to do it,” Morse said.
Though he held up a sign that read “No to health care,” Patrick also said the health care system needs to be reformed, but not in the way the bill would dictate.
“We ought to change the health care system. There’s a lot of frivolous lawsuits,” Patrick said. “But what (members of congress) are trying to support is taking away your rights. We’re moving toward a totalitarian-type government if we can’t stop this nonsense now.”
Nick Johnson can be reached at njohnson@dailyegyptian.com or 536-3311 ext. 263.
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