Rep. Elise Stefanik gamely stuck to her talking points at a televised discussion Monday, insisting that the American Health Care Act provided more choices and better options. | AP Photo Stefanik gets an earful on health care at town hall

ALBANY— Rep. Elise Stefanik received an earful Monday from constituents in the 21st Congressional District who questioned her vote to repeal and replace Obamacare.

During a televised discussion with roughly 100 constituents at Mountain Lakes PBS in Plattsburgh, several people criticized Stefanik for voting to cut more than $800 billion from the Medicaid program. Stefanik insisted the measure would provide states with greater flexibility.


The congresswoman gamely stuck to her talking points, insisting that the American Health Care Act provided more choices and better options.

“I think we deserve better health care,” the North Country Republican said, noting that there are “price increases on the [health] exchange” and that insurers are leaving the marketplace.

The crowd was relatively respectful, occasionally booing or giggling at one of Stefanik's responses. There was none of the hostility that has characterized other town halls around the country.

Instead, the tone was one of bewilderment as constituents told Stefanik about how they or a family member gained insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, and how they feared what might happen if the law were repealed without an adequate replacement.

Kathryn Cramer, a Westport resident who was enrolled in the Essential Plan when she had surgery to remove a tumor from her brain, asked how the legislation would help residents of the North Country.

“My goal is for better quality health care and lower cost,” Stefanik said. “When you lower those costs ...you’re more likely to have people seek the preventive care they need. You talk about checkups … many people aren’t going to those followups because the cost, out-of-pocket, under current plans is so expensive and they can’t pay it.”

There were no audible objections to lowering out-of-pocket costs but when Stefanik turned to Medicaid, saying she wanted to cut “waste, fraud and abuse,” a chorus of boos rang out.

Sixteen percent of adults and more than one-third of children in Stefanik's district rely on Medicaid, according to a Georgetown University study.

Henry Cook, a Peru resident whose son has a developmental disorder and relies on Medicaid, said he is worried that if the bill became law, services for his son would be cut.

“The Medicaid proposal in the bill would not go into effect until 2020,” Stefanik began. “New York can continue to expand ... until that date at which point it would go to the traditional Medicaid match and it wouldn’t get the 90-to-10 percent matching. So that is more flexibility to the states to determine how they provide services.”

Cook cut her off.

“That’s a cut to the services in New York State,” he said. “There is no other way around it. You can’t put a spin on it.”

Stefanik is in a relatively safe district that voted overwhelmingly for President Donald Trump in 2016. But the two largest applause lines during the evening were in favor of a single-payer health system and a call for the president to release his tax returns.

Stefanik also drew congratulations from several audience members for breaking from Republican orthodoxy and supporting climate change legislation.

CORRECTION: This story initially misspelled the name of Kathryn Cramer.