Citizens bend, burn Ensign’s ear at town hall meeting

Karen Zekan

Thursday, Feb. 19, 1998 | 10:16 a.m.

A town hall meeting erupted into explosive debates with Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., Wednesday night as citizens expressed their anger against his stances on Medicare and expanding U.S. 95.

More than half the estimated 100 people attending the meeting in Western High School's auditorium were senior citizens, and their displeasure was loudly vocalized when Ensign explained his stance on Medicare.

Medicare's guiding premise is to provide older Americans with access to mainstream health care at an affordable cost.

What Ensign referred to as the Kyle Archer bill permits Americans to seek the services of doctors of their choice, however, if they are on Medicare and opt to pay another doctor out of pocket, their doctor cannot receive Medicare payments for two years, he said.

Medicare often pays doctors less than many private insurance companies. Some citizens in the crowd were concerned that Ensign is supporting a bill that could see seniors paying increasingly larger amounts of money to make up for the decreasing portion of doctors' bills Medicare won't handle.

"So where Medicare used to pay $1,000 and we paid 15 percent, or $150, now we could pay $1,000 if the doctor said we had to," one man said.

"That's right," Ensign said. "Americans have the right to choose their doctors" and the right to find other doctors who charge less.

"I support the Kyle Archer bill," he said. "I want to give you more choices."

At least one voice emerged from the growling crowd: "When you're sick, Congressman, you can't be running around from doctor to doctor -- you've got to work on getting better."

Ensign spoke briefly on numerous topics during the hour-long meeting, dodging the many raised hands in the crowd by promptly calling an end to the gathering at 8 p.m.

Citizens were curious about his positions on veterans affairs, the International Monetary Fund headquartered in Washington, D.C., and a bill to control unions' abilities to use dues for political purposes.

Yet massive valley growth and its affects on local roadways -- specifically U.S. 95 -- dominated most of Ensign's time.

Las Vegas resident Aaron Roth challenged Ensign for supporting the expansion of the freeway, stating that transportation authorities have determined that the valley will most likely outgrow the proposed 10-lane, five-mile widening within two years.

Roth also told Ensign that expanding the freeway means the freeway can accommodate more cars, and more cars equals more pollution that will affect everyone, including schoolchildren whose playgrounds are near U.S. 95.

"Congressman, how can you endanger the health of the children," Roth asked.

Ensign's three-part response was that he got $5 million in a bill to study a light rail system, stated that it's impossible to build roads fast enough to keep up with growth especially in the northwest portion of the valley, and that a representative's responsibility from a federal level is to request money to find a solution.

"I can dance around it and lie to you, but I supported that issue," Ensign said. "If they don't (expand U.S. 95), it will be worse."

Roth responded: "You ought to take a page out of California's book," pointing to the traffic nightmare Nevada's neighbor to the west has suffered for decades despite constant freeway expansion.