A Town Hall meeting by Congressman Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, at Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church on Aug. 18 drew an overflow crowd of about 1,700. They came to voice their concerns over the proposed changes in healthcare legislation.

"There are obviously important things that are going on in Washington [D.C.] and it is important for people to be able to come in and look their member of Congress in the eye and tell them what they are thinking," Burgess said.

Like most in the audience who spoke, Burgess said he is in opposition to America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.

"I voted against it in committee and I don’t think it is ever going to change enough that it would win my favor," Burgess said. "For people who either agree with me or disagree with me, it is critically important for every citizen to make themselves at least passably aware of this bill because if it passes, it is going to affect the delivery of healthcare in this country in a very real way, not just between now and the next election, but for the next 40 years."

Burgess compared the current healthcare legislation to the Medicare Bill passed in the 1960’s.

"You think back to 1965 when they passed Medicare — maybe if they had exercised a little more caution and tried to look over that time horizon a little bit more, maybe we wouldn’t be faced with stark funding realities that are going to exist in just a few short years," he said. "Our children may be in a position to have to make some very difficult choices; whether or not we have continued care of senior citizens just because the cost gets to be so much or there may be certain therapies that are restricted at certain ages. I wouldn’t ever want to see that. I wouldn’t want to create the environment that causes the next generation to have to face that."

Burgess practiced medicine in North Texas for more than 25 years before becoming a member of Congress in 2002.

"I’ve been in the trenches, I’ve been in the exam room and I’ve helped people work through tough medical problems. So, I know certainly firsthand the 'one-size-fits-all’ approach that we sometimes do in Washington [D.C.] is not something that necessarily translates into the day-to-day practice that a doctor and patient might encounter," Burgess said.

Burgess said if the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 is passed, benefits in this bill would not start for three or four years.

"It is not like there is going to be immediate help to someone on October. It isn’t coming until 2013 anyway, so let’s take the time to get it right," Burgess said. "It is incumbent upon us to do this correctly; take our time and do it right."

For more information about Burgess or the current health care legislation, visit http://burgess. house.gov or http:// healthcaucus.org.


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