By JON BAKER

CUMBERLAND — Michael Tusoni didn’t mince words when he fired a pair of queries at U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who held a community dinner at the Lusitania Club on Tuesday night.

The event, the senator’s 11th since taking office in 2006, drew over 160 residents hell-bent on issuing to him their personal concerns and worries, and Whitehouse caught an earful.
“Social Security is broke, Medicare is broke and the Veterans Administration is now rationing its care, and that’s a governmental health care system?” asked Tusoni, a longtime town resident. “My two questions are, first, why should we trust the government to take care over what should be the best health care system in the world? And, second, will Congress be covered by that same plan?”
Whitehouse responded by stating that neither Social Security nor Medicare is broken, but broke.
“The money we create for health care in this country is at 18 percent; the only country that’s worse is Switzerland at 11 percent,” the senator noted. “Health care in the United States costs $2.5 trillion a year. If you cut that in half, you can cut over $1 trillion from it. I agree with this gentleman that we have the best medicine in the world … but, when you come to the final result, you have terrible costs that are breaking the bank at every level.”
“There’s enormous room for improvement,” he added.
As for Congress being covered by that same system, Whitehouse admitted that the only way a resident could gain such health insurance would be as a federal employee.
Afterward, Tusoni claimed dissatisfaction with Whitehouse’s replies.
“He didn’t answer either of them,” he stated. “I’m not pleased because I don’t trust the federal government, and I don’t believe it’s capable of fixing this. Still, I’m glad I came. The macaroni and meatballs were pretty good.”
Several local politicians dotted the audience, including State Reps. Gus Silva of Central Falls and Mary Ann Shallcross Smith of Lincoln; Cumberland Town Council members Mia Ackerman, Craig Dwyer and Mia Ackerman; School Committee member Ryan Pearson; former State Rep. John Barr III of Lincoln; Pawtucket City Council President Henry Kinch and Councilor Larry Tetreault; and Cumberland Mayor Daniel McKee; and others.
Alex Swartsel, Community Director of Sen. Whitehouse’s Office, mentioned that he attended over 40 of these “Q-and-A” sessions during his 2006 campaign, and he gleaned a great deal from them, so decided on another here.
Before the senator took the microphone, Kathy Fonseca of Central Falls told the crowd that several years ago, she desperately needed a heart transplant, but wasn’t covered and had no money to pay for it.
“She came to me and told me her problem, so we banged away at Medicaid,” he said afterward. “She wasn’t available for Medicaid because she hadn’t been disabled long enough, which is six months, with that heart ailment. We pointed out that if they didn’t help her, either she would die, which would be a bad outcome, or — if she dealt with the six-month wait, she’d become sicker and it would cost them more.
“We also pointed out that it would be in Medicaid’s best interest to jump at the chance to help her now,” he added. “I was just a candidate at the time.”
Fonseca also stated she currently has a $9,000 per month bill for medications she must take; that brought gasps from the residents.
“Every once in a while, you get a good idea,” Whitehouse explained. “Kathy asked me why should people be obliged to pay for experimental drugs when you don’t know if they’re going to work properly. She said you’re giving the drug companies the benefit of you being a guinea pig. Those are the kinds of ideas you want to look into.”
Randy Tuomisto of Cumberland asked what Washington was doing to lessen health care costs.
“Here’s a broad outline of legislation that has come out of the Health Care Committee, which covers (such) issues: First on the list is quality improvement,” Whitehouse stated. “The fact is, the better the quality of health care, the less it costs. That’s the conundrum … The second is prevention. It’s very hard to find a quality primary care physician, who could make $120,000, when a radiologist doesn’t make as much. We’re working on that … We also have found fraud and abuse in the system, and that’s something we need to focus on.”

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One unidentified man praised Whitehouse for his concentration on the problem, but also suggested that chiropractic care be an option. Another thanked him for his service, adding, “I disagree with everything you say, but I give you credit for trying to do the best you can.”
Then there was Lillian DelPapa, 81, a native Pawtucketer and retired registered nurse now living in North Providence. She told the senator she had heard on a national news channel that President Barack Obama had promised union members they would not have to pay taxes on their health care benefits, that it shouldn’t be considered income.
“The fact that I was not a union member, evidently I’d be penalized,” she said. “I’ll still be taxed for health care benefits that I get from my employer. It’s inequitable … Sen. Whitehouse said I was right, that it isn’t fair.
“I’m satisfied with the answer, but I’m still going to keep an eye on Congress,” she added. “As for the price of pharmaceuticals, I’ve been on medical missions to Honduras, and we got our meds from England at little or no cost. I understand countries like England and Canada sell prescriptions at lower prices, so how come Americans don’t have the same?
“I knew the answer to my question. We have to get the prices down throughout the U.S., and he agreed with me.”
Whitehouse admitted that Congress made a terrible mistake when they created a federal law stating Americans must pay what U.S. pharmaceutical companies ask for medications.
“That needs to be fixed,” he told the audicence. “If we allowed for importation of drugs, that would help. Something isn’t right with this whole deal. We need to provide a little competition for these companies. I think it would do a world of good, but fighting these companies is tough, as they’re crawling with lobbyists.”
Rep. Shallcross Smith said later that she attended because “health care is something that needs to be discussed.
“It affects every single family,” she offered. “When I went door-to-door while campaigning last fall, that was one of the three major topics people brought up … I thought the questions people asked (Tuesday) were totally legitimate, and the answers were good, but I’m still not hearing a complete solution.
“We’re hearing ideas, not concepts,” she continued. “We need a deadline to get this fixed. Congress has to give us, as state representatives, that deadline … You know, my parents are in that ‘doughnut hole,’ where they are on a fixed income and most of their money goes into prescription drugs. Say they have an ‘allowance’ of $5,000, and by October or November they’ve used it all up, they have to pay the full price. That’s a doughnut hole, and seniors especially can’t survive.”
Whitehouse stayed an additional 40 minutes to speak with people, listen to their stories. In fact, before it started, he provided at the reservation table a flier for people to fill out regarding their personal problems.
“We’ll take all of these questions and concerns back to Congress and discuss them,” Whitehouse said. “There were some people who were concerned, even angry, but it charges me up to hear about their experiences. I will use them in my speeches and discuss what local residents told me with colleagues. Something has to be done.”