DURHAM -- The Democratic Senate candidates voiced strong support for President Barack Obama's health care proposal Monday night, separating themselves from the man they hope to replace, Republican Sen. Richard Burr.
The Senate hopefuls said the current health insurance caused too many people with illness to lose their insurance or to go broke paying their medical bills, was too expensive for many small businesses and provided too little competition for private insurers who raise rates at will.
"We have to act now to pass a comprehensive health care reform with a public option," said Ken Lewis, a Chapel Hill lawyer. "We are closer than we have been in 60 years to getting health care reform ...Now is the time to put the pedal to the medal."
The candidates appeared before about 250 people at a forum sponsored by the Durham for Obama Committee at St. Joseph's AME Church. The candidates answered written questions from the crowd touching on several issues including jobs, foreign policy, and whether the rules of the Senate need to be changed.
Burr has been a critic of Democratic health care proposals.
All three major candidates in the May 4 primary - Lewis, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and former state Sen. Cal Cunningham - voiced support for a so-called public option, a proposed health insurance plan offered by the federal government. The House plan included one, but the Senate measure under consideration does not.
Marshall noted that she was the first candidate in the race to come out for the public option, announcing her support shortly after she entered the race in September.
"I'm glad to see some others have agreed with it," Marshall said.
Marshall said any health care proposal should end the discrimination in insurance rates against women.
"It is truly a sad commentary on America, the wealthiest country on the face of the earth, that many of our bankruptcies are simply due to catastrophic illnesses or accidents," Marshall said. "We are seeing families pay more and more for less."
She also called for an independent oversight to help keep insurance companies honest.
Cunningham said that among things, the health care legislation must deal with cost containment, address the so-called doughnut hole that has shortchanged some Medicare recipients, and make sure Medicare is made fiscally sound for the future.
"We have to eliminate the health insurance industry practice of ... dropping people during the worst financial crisis" in memory, he said.
A fourth candidate, Lumberton lawyer Marcus Williams, said that cost containment would be a top priority, as well as making sure that children up to age 26 are covered.
