Ensign sticks to Republican talking points at health care town hall

January 12, 2010: Reno, NV. – Sen. John Ensign stuck to the typical Republican talking points and a mantra of “no” during a health care town hall at the University of Nevada, Reno tonight.

Ensign took prescreened questions from a crowd made up of about half supporters of the Senate’s health insurance reform bill. Reform supporters demanded to know why he has resorted to lies and scare tactics to oppose reform that will make affordable care accessible all Nevadans.

While Ensign mostly parroted the tired talking points used by Republicans in recent months, he came out in support of ending insurance company discrimination based on preexisting conditions and lifetime spending caps, and endorsed community health centers as a means of moving patients who need preventive, primary care out of already crowded emergency rooms – all measures that are included in the health insurance reform bills passed by Democrats in the House and Senate. Still, Ensign said he does not support the bill, despite these measures that would improve the lives of millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Nevadans.

Ensign is expected to use more of the same myths and rhetoric at a town hall tomorrow in Las Vegas.

“It was clear tonight that Sen. Ensign, like Republicans nationwide, is opposing this important reform merely to score political points. After all, he endorsed several key components of the bill tonight,” said Phoebe Sweet, communications director for the Nevada State Democratic Party. “Sen. Ensign and the Party of No have relied on lies during this debate because they have no plan of their own except to obstruct Democrats’ progress toward reforming our broken health insurance system. But we know the truth – that the Senate’s reform bill will insure half a million more Nevadans, shrink the Medicare doughnut hole, end discrimination by insurance companies, ban preexisting condition clauses and lower the deficit by $132 billion in the first decade.

“Unfortunately, Republicans are more interested in playing partisan politics and rooting for America to fail than in working together with Democrats to lower health insurance premiums for Nevada families and small businesses.”