http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-aseca1-health-care-081809081809aug18,0,4616127.story?page=1&track=rssAs hundreds of critics and supporters of health-care reform lined the streets outside, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, held a spirited but civil town-hall meeting Monday night inside a union hall where his supporters outnumbered critics.
Questions came from all sides of the debate, however.
For nearly two hours, debate focused on such issues as how pre-existing medical conditions would be handled in the legislation, how reform would be paid for, and whether it would let people hold on to current insurance.
Grayson at one point went through the exact language of a pending bill, displaying a section on an overhead projector and arguing it would protect people's right to keep the health plans they have.
At another point, a woman critical of the pending reform said prostate and breast cancer were being treated differently. Grayson challenged that interpretation but said if it is true, he would offer an amendment to change it.
The lawmaker also told a handful of critics they were raising issues — tort reform and Medicare fraud — that were not in bills pending before him in the House.
"I think your concerns are well-founded," Grayson said, echoing a common refrain at the meeting. "But that's not this bill."
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