Murphy under fire over health care vote

Hartford (WTNH) - All five of Connecticut's members of Congress voted for health care reform in the House. But only one congressman is being targeted by the industry for that vote.

It's just the start of a massive campaign against health care reform as a plan heads to the U.S. Senate.

Young congressman, Chris Murphy (D-5th District), met with a panel at the Meriden Senior Center today in an attempt to dispel what he calls misinformation about the health care reform bill.

"It's reputed to be 1,900 pages. I'm sure it took you more than an hour or two to read it," Jim O'Brien of Cheshire said.

Read a summary of the health care bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

"Ahh, I read every word and every page of this bill, I think I understand it as well as anybody else does there," Murphy said.

Murphy is already on the receiving end of a TV ad barrage critical of his vote for the House plan earlier this month, an ad campaign he says is being paid for by the insurance companies through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because they are afraid of competition.

"I have no doubt that this is being paid for, in part, by the insurance industry, the drug industry, and a lot of the for profit health care industry that has been fighting against health care reform for decades," Murphy said.

He explained that seniors would see an immediate increase in prescription drug coverage as the so-called donut hole in the Medicare plan is closed, one of the reasons AARP is endorsing the plan.

"And, you'll get a fifty percent cut in the cost that you pay while in the donut hole for brand name drugs and that will happen in January," Kelley said.

Murphy also explained that the House passed plan stops what he described as padding to private insurance companies on so-called Medigap or Medicare Advantage policies.

"We cut back those over payments to insurance companies which will expand the life of Medicare without harming the benefits that seniors get," Murphy said.