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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2009
Contact: Parker Lacoste TONIGHT:
OSPRI President, Research Fellow to Speak at Health Care Town Hall
PROVIDENCE - Bill Felkner, president of the Ocean State Policy Research Institute, and Brian Bishop, fellow for regulatory and environmental policy, will be speaking at a health care town hall meeting hosted tonight by State Rep. John J. Loughlin II.
The town hall meeting is from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Brantal's Restaurant, 91 Crandall Road in Tiverton. "We are pleased to participate in this meeting and discuss how national health care reform could affect Rhode Island," Felkner said. "We believe it is essential that all voices are heard in this national dialogue about the future of health care in this country. With an estimated cost of $1 trillion over the next decade, it is crucial that the citizens of Rhode Island understand how current proposals for health care reform could affect them and their country." Felkner will speak about how the health care legislation proposed by the President and Congress could impact the Global Medicaid Waiver the state recently obtained from the federal government. The waiver allows the state to pursue innovations in Medicaid programs. Rhode Island is currently the only state with such a waiver. Bishop will address the regulatory nature of the health care bills currently under consideration by Congress. "At the Ocean State Policy Research Institute, we continue to advocate for free-market solutions to health care," Felkner said. "We remain deeply concerned that a public option for government-run health care could raise costs, restrict competition and innovation, and reduce the quality of health care for average Americans." The meeting will be videotaped and a link to the recording will be posted tomorrow on our Web site, www.oceanstatepolicy.org. About OSPRI: Created in 2007, our work is focused on crafting sound public policy based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, and traditional American values. We offer timely research and analysis on important issues to be shared with elected officials, the media, business leaders, community organizations and individual citizens. In recent months, we have been responsible for such successful projects as the Transparency Train - A public financial and legislative information repository, as well as regular updates published and available on our website and companion blog. About The Transparency Train: The Transparency Train Web Portal (www.transparencytrain.org) provides access to a variety of websites designed to present public information in a Google-style searchable format. These sites include: RI Data which contains every budget, payroll, public employee contract and monthly check register for all cities, towns and school districts in Rhode Island. RI Votes which is an online database of legislation and voting records. LRB Watch provides analysis and information on the State Labor Relations Board. RI Stimulus Watch allows taxpayers to vote and comment on stimulus projects in Rhode Island. RI Schools is an interactive website that allows viewers to create comparative graphs of school districts plotting various metrics such as cost per student, test scores and the number of employees (coming soon). Take Action, a "how-to" manual that shows citizens how to file Freedom Of Information Act requests for public information and what to do if they don't comply.
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