Health Care Concerns Aired in Hospital

HOUSTON - Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee holds another town hall meeting, but this time the crowd was subdued, polite and more focused on the intricacies of health care reform than its politics. It was not exactly a town hall meeting though. Jackson Lee met exclusively with employees of St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown Houston.

The Congresswoman has held a few town hall meetings that have been quite raucous. Both sides of the issue have accused the others of manufacturing outrage and support for their side by stocking the events with political operatives.

Video of Jackson Lee answering her phone while a cancer survivor asked a question has gone viral on the Internet. Nevertheless, she remains upbeat.

" I think we're getting out message out there," said Jackson Lee.

The town hall crowd was different indeed. Questions were less hostile and more targeted. One doctor expressed concern about reimbursements. He said Medicare reimburses at below real costs and if that is the way that government health care would operate, private physician practices would be out of business. The Congresswoman pledged to look into that.

Jackson Lee admitted she had some concerns with the reform bill as written too. She does not like a provision that would ban the creation of any more doctor-owned hospitals and prevent existing ones from expanding.

"We've go to tweak it, we're going to make it relevant," said Jackson Lee. St. Joseph's recently became a doctor-owned hospital.

One protester did manage to make it onto the same floor of the meeting room. Police escorted him out of the building before it began. The protester has been to at least two other town hall meetings and questioned the Congresswoman.