U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise says Democrats' health-care plan would worsen problems

The Times-Picayune ^ | September 02, 2009 | Jeff Adelson

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U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise rallied conservative faithful on the north shore Wednesday night as he attacked the health care plans being considered in Congress and pitched an alternative bill that would provide tax credits for insurance and cap malpractice awards.

Scalise, R-Jefferson, acknowledged there were things broken with the current health insurance system but echoed conservative rhetoric as he argued the plan supported by President Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders would make problems worse.

"I don't think we should break all the things that work to fix the things that don't work, " Scalise said.

Several hundred packed the Fontainebleau High School gym for the event, which also featured Alan Levine, head of the state's Department of Health and Hospitals. Levine was no less forceful than Scalise in his denunciation of the administration's health care plans.

"If the government jams a bill through Congress it's bound to fail, " Levine said.

Though relatively calmer than recent town halls across the country that have grabbed national attention as protesters have shouted down legislators, carried guns and scuffled with one another, the Mandeville town hall wasn't exactly quiet. In a season in which opponents of the health care bill have been the far more vocal side of the debate, it was about a dozen supporters of the plan who peppered Scalise and Levine with shouted comments during the Mandeville town hall.

For their part, the opponents of the bill who largely filled the gym broke into thunderous applause several times during his presentation.

Scalise referred to the health care plan as a "government takeover" and said it was "very similar" to plans in Britain and Canada, though the main plan being considered by Democratic leaders, HR 3200, only provides for a "public option" that would be available alongside private insurance plans. Under

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