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Health care discussed at Buerkle-Rozum town hall

Two of three candidates in the race for the 24th congressional district, met with voters in Cayuga county yesterday during a town hall forum organized by one of those candidates, Republican Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle.At the American Legion in Auburn, about 40 people dropped questions in a basket to be asked of the two candidates, Buerkle and Green Party Candidate Ursula Rozum.  Many touched on health care, and the future of the Affordable Care Act.  Buerkle supports repealing the law.

"We've got to take a step back and look at what comprehensive health care reform would look like and it's got to be market-driven not driven by the federal government.  Whatever the federal government does is least efficient, least effective and most expensive," said Buerkle.

Rozum also calls for changes in the Affordable Care Act, but she supporting government-run Medicare for all, and she criticizes the current law as something that forces people to choose policies because of price.  

"They have to make a choice between good health care coverage and what they can honestly afford.  And so I think that's the problem in our health care system right now.  It's profit driven and not care driven," Rozum said.

Candidates said they would have liked to have heard from  Democrat candidate Dan Maffei on the Affordable Care Act that he voted for during his one term in Congress.  Maffei refused an invitation to the town halls, calling them a political photo opportunity  The final of four town halls between Rozum and Buerkle will be Friday in Clay.

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.