Approximately 15,000 Lewis County residents got a call from their congressman Tuesday.

    U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, held the third “telephone town hall” of the August congressional recess, one week before a scheduled in-person town hall meeting at Corbet Theatre in Centralia.

An automated call went out to residents at 11:30 a.m., and 1,740 people were on the line at the peak of the conference call, according to a spokesman for Baird.

Of those, 16 people were passed through to the congressman by call screeners who selected questioners at random, according to the spokesman. Thirteen of those callers asked questions about the ongoing debate over health care reform being considered in Congress.

The proposed reform calls for a public option for health care coverage and government subsidies for those who can’t afford insurance.

The debate over the overhaul has occupied congressional members across the country, with representatives and senators coming under sometimes heavy and intense questioning from constituents. The telephone town halls were originally scheduled as Baird’s only meetings on the issue after he and other members of Congress said they received death threats, while others were shouted down at meetings elsewhere.

    Baird issued an apology earlier this month after referring to the tactics of some protesters and town hall attendees as “close to brown shirt” and equal to a “lynch-mob mentality.”

    The one-hour phone call with constituents Tuesday, though, was civil and calm with callers asking one question with occasional follow-ups.

    Baird, a clinical psychiatrist by trade, began the discussion with a statement, reasserting that he has not decided whether or not he will vote for the reform which is included in five bills currently moving through Congress.

    He said he saw both strengths and shortcomings in the legislation.

    “I have not made up my mind on where I stand on any of the bills,” he said.

    Baird also sought to debunk rumors and myths about the bill that have permeated the Internet and clouded the debate. He said that under no situation will illegal immigrants be allowed to take part in subsidized health care coverage, one of the main arguments touted by those who oppose the bill.

    “The bill is very clear, people who are not here legally will not get health care insurance, period,” Baird said.

    Lewis County Democratic Central Committee Chairman Bob Schroeter was the final caller to make it through to Baird, and asked him to clarify the difference between a public option for health care and a single-payer system.

    Baird explained that a public, government-provided insurance option would be available among a host of private plans that would all be eligible for a government subsidy for those who are currently unable to afford health care.

    Baird said he would only support the bill if it included no cross-subsidies or regulatory advantages for the government-provided option that was not available to those using private carriers.

    “Why not be able to choose a government option rather than a government mandate?” Baird said.

    A caller identifying himself as William Smith asked Baird if he and other members of Congress would agree to the same coverage as their constituents if the reform is indeed passed.

    “Absolutely, yes,” Baird said. “I believe the majority of my colleagues think that way.”

    Other callers worried that the cost of the legislation was too high and asked why reforms couldn’t be made to such existing programs as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

    Margie Miller, Mossyrock, said she thought the legislation dealt too heavily with existing conditions, treatment and pharmaceuticals without due consideration for preventative care.

    Baird agreed.

    “Too often the system rewards throwing more treatments at things and penalizes being careful,” he said.

     Not all of the callers asked about health care. Other questions included inquiries into the progress of flood control efforts on the Cowlitz and Chehalis rivers. Another caller asked about the so-called cap and trade bill that was passed by the House and awaits Senate approval.

    After the call ended, a Baird spokesman said none of the callers were “cherry picked” and that four staffers in Vancouver and Washington D.C. answered the calls and put them through to Baird.

    Schroeter, the Lewis County Democratic Central Committee chairman and final caller, said afterward that he thought the format was conducive to a healthy debate and that he hopes the in-person town hall will be as civil.

    “I hope that things are civil,” he said. “I don’t think there is any reason for us to lose the civility in terms of important issues.”

    Baird’s town hall meeting for Lewis County will be held Sept. 2 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Corbet Theatre at Centralia College.

Telephone Poll

    Throughout the one hour telephone town hall, 3rd District Congressman Brian Baird asked callers three poll questions on health care. Below are the results of that poll as reported by Baird’s office:

    Do you believe there is a need to reform our current health care system?

    Yes — 161    (66%)

    No — 82    (34%)

    Do you believe insurance discrimination against preexisting conditions should be prohibited?

    Yes — 120    (67%)

    No — 59    (33%)

    Do you support an optional public health insurance that people can choose whether or not to participate in and that would not receive special subsidies from the government?

    Yes — 102    (68%)

    No — 49    (32%)

    Eric Schwartz: (360) 807-8245