Area Democrats gathered Tuesday to discuss the health care system, criticizing local U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe for not holding a town hall of his own.
Bowie County and Miller County Democrats organized the panel discussion that focused on access to health care under the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. Health care experts and state and local politicians addressed topics such as Texas' refusal to expand Medicaid under the ACA and the feasibility of instituting a national, single-payer system.
Democrats say they have repeatedly tried to schedule a town hall meeting with Ratcliffe, R-Texas, since January, and Tuesday's meeting was a response to his deflecting and ignoring them. Ratcliffe's spokesperson said Monday he is not dodging his constituents and that scheduling an in-person town hall is "not a matter of if but when."
The audience watched a brief video of Ratcliffe standing before a painting of Ronald Reagan and declaring his intention to repeal the ACA, claiming 76 percent of his constituents were in favor of repeal.
Ensuring that everyone can get the health care they need should not be a partisan issue, Bowie County Democrats Chair Amber Keith told the gathering at Twin City Church of Christ in Texarkana, Texas.
"Cancer doesn't care" about anyone's party affiliation, she said.
Much of the discussion contrasted health care in Arkansas, which expanded Medicaid under the ACA, with Texas, which did not.
"Texarkana is a wonderful petri dish of what happens when one state expands and one doesn't," said Mark Vaughn, a counselor with Southwest Arkansas Counseling and Mental Health Center. "Arkansas has to shoulder the burden that Texas refuses to deal with because they're too proud to take Obamacare."
Appeals to compassion and vows to keep Obamacare in place brought applause from the crowd.
"This is not a matter of politics," Keith said. "It's a matter of right and wrong."