Town Halls Across 1st Congressional District Center on Affordable Care Act

Congressman Andy Harris announced he will hold in-person town halls with his constituents to discuss changes in the Affordable Care Act. The first event will be in Easton on Friday, March 31.

Harris will also hold his traditional teleconferences; see the schedule below.

The announcement that Harris, who has spent his career as a physician, would hold "brick and mortar" town halls came after constituents marched to his congressional office in Bel Air earlier this month to invite him to a grassroots town hall meeting to discuss health insurance.

Harris said his intention was to wait until the new health care plan had been revealed to discuss it with constituents, noting he was not on the committee crafting the legislation. He did take questions about the Affordable Care Act during his conference calls with constituents.

"It's not working," Harris said about the so-called "Obamacare" plan during a Feb. 16 teleconference. On the Eastern Shore, Harris said, there was only one HMO available. "We're going to have to replace [Obamacare] with something that works better" and is "more affordable," he said.

Harris reported the teleconference drew more than 1,000 people to the call, which he hosted from his Bel Air office.

The grassroots, Bel Air-based group Citizens for Health Care is putting on its own town hall meetings to explain the Affordable Care Act, and its forum at Harford Community College last week reportedly drew 180 people. It has others planned; see the schedule of upcoming meetings below.

According to the Associated Press, the town hall meeting at Harford Community College included an overview of the Affordable Care Act and what changes to it could look like. The event brought public attention to the fact that Harris, who was invited to be a panelist, was not in attendance; The Aegis reported that a name tag with the congressman's name on it sat on an empty chair.

The congressman indicated that he wanted to wait until he had more information to meet in person.

"As I have previously stated, I will hold brick-and-mortar, in-person town hall meetings when an Obamacare replacement has been proposed," Harris said. "Since one should be available by the end of March, I will be hosting a brick-and-mortar town hall on the Middle Shore in Easton on Friday, March 31, to discuss Congress’ new plan to replace Obamacare and repair the country’s health care system." The exact location and time are to be announced.

Here is the schedule for Harris's town halls:

• Tele-town hall—5:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 27
• Tele-town hall—6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28 (before State of the Union address)
• In-person town hall—Friday, March 31 in Easton (time and place to be determined)

Here is the schedule for the Citizens for Health Care town halls:

• In-person town hall—6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, Salvation Army, 429 N. Lake Dr., Salisbury
• In-person town hall—6 p.m. on Thursday, March 2, St Paul’s UCC, 17 Bond St., Westminster

Full statement from Congressman Andy Harris

After reaching over 4,500 constituents through my last tele-town hall, I will be hosting two more tele-town halls next week. The first will be Monday, February 27 at 5:30 PM and the second on Tuesday, February 28 at 6:00 PM before the State of the Union address. As I have previously stated, I will hold brick-and-mortar, in-person town hall meetings when an ObamaCare replacement has been proposed. Since one should be available by the end of March, I will be hosting a brick-and-mortar town hall on the Middle Shore in Easton on Friday, March 31 to discuss Congress’ new plan to replace ObamaCare and repair the country’s health care system.

The time and exact location for the town hall are not yet finalized, but details will be made available on my website and social media accounts as soon as they are confirmed. I look forward to answering questions about the proposed replacement plan, and to continuing my proud tradition of holding public forums (over 60 brick-and-mortar town halls and over 50 tele-town halls since 2011). Feel free to contact my office if you have any questions about these events!

Photo of Congressman Andy Harris by Gage Skidmore.