Peggy Smith hasn't been to any of the health care rallies held around York County in recent months. She hasn't called or e-mailed legislators to share her views.
But Smith has plenty to say. She and her husband, Harold, got laid off from their jobs at Continental Tire three years ago and now struggle to keep up with rising medical bills.
Smith says she just doesn't have enough free time to get involved. The 51-year-old McConnells resident hoped to attend a pro-reform meeting Saturday in Rock Hill, but family obligations got in the way.
“I would've come if my daughter didn't have to work,” said Smith, pressed into babysitting duties at home with her grandchildren.
To supporters of health care reform, Smith is part of a silent majority that hasn't spoken up enough to counter opponents of health care reform.
Thirty people showed up Saturday for a meeting organized by the Rock Hill NAACP, and many talked about how their side has been outflanked by more vocal opponents who do a better job getting attention.
Over the summer, more than 600 people attended a town hall meeting at the Magnolia Room in Rock Hill to voice opposition to President Obama's health care proposals. Dozens of speakers criticized the proposals at another town hall hosted by U.S. Rep. John Spratt, a York Democrat.
“I have to applaud the opposition,” said Doug Wilson, an Obama field worker assigned to Rock Hill during the campaign. “When they believe strongly in something, they are able to move a message. We have yet to be able to do that.”
The opposition has gained momentum because Americans have legitimate fears about the bill being debated in Congress, says Glenn McCall, chairman of the York County Republican Party.
“I think people really want health care reform, but they don't want the government takeover of it,” McCall said in an interview Saturday. “With the current bill, there aren't many folks I've talked to who support it.”
“Folks just don't have faith in the government managing a program as massive as this,” McCall said.
In the view of Ernest Brown, critics have used questionable claims to rally support for their views.
Brown oversees North Central Family Medical Center, a nonprofit community health center on Rock Hill's Saluda Street. Close to 50 percent of patients who walk into the center have no insurance at all, he said.
Many others are underinsured, Brown said, meaning they have high deductibles or plans that don't cover certain conditions. “I guess you could call us socialized medicine, if you listen to the critics,” said Brown.
The center relies on federal grants and subsidies to provide discounted medical care. It's similar to other nonprofit clinics that serve an estimated 700,000 South Carolinians who don't have health insurance.
Supporters say the Democratic bill could give relief to families living in the Fifth Congressional District. It would provide coverage for 82,000 uninsured residents and improve Medicare for 119,000 beneficiaries, according to figures released by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, chaired by Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman.
“Those who oppose it have more energy,” said Brown. “It's that silent majority out there that we need to rally.”
Others at the Freedom Center meeting said they haven't gotten enough direction on how to get involved.
“The majority of us don't know where to go and what to say,” said one audience member who addressed the group but didn't give her name. “Where do we start? What do you want us to do?”
Smith, the McConnells woman who didn't attend Saturday's meeting, said she'd like to take a more active role in working for health care reform.
The couple pays $507 a month for insurance that Harold Smith kept when he retired from Continental — but the Smiths say they often have to reach deeper into their pockets to pay for medical bills not covered in the plan.
Peggy Smith found work cleaning a store through a “temp” agency but had to quit because back pain was causing too much trouble. The doctor put her on medication for high blood pressure. Her husband suffers from gout, as well as bad knees from his time in the military.
“To be able to live, pay my bills and then pay for insurance, it's almost impossible,” she said.
If she can find someone else to babysit her grandchildren, Smith says she'll do her best to attend the next event held by supporters. “If they let me know when they're having the rally, I'll certainly be there,” she said.
Matt Garfield 803-329-4063
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