FISHKILL – Over 200 people turned out to voice their opinions regarding the current state of health care reform at Wednesday evening’s town hall meeting in Fishkill.

Assemblyman Gregory Ball, who is running for Congress as a Republican in the 19th District next year, called the meeting to hear what is on the minds of local residents about federal proposals for healthcare.

Emotions ran high as many residents had the opportunity to share their opinions about the health care system and any reform they felt should or should not be made.

“Reform the current system,” said Garrison resident Andree Monroe. “I feel better talking to my doctor about a condition I have opposed to speaking to my congressman. I think that the private sector is where we want to stay.”

Joyce Blum, also a resident of Garrison, supports the idea of a government run health care system. “I’m here to advocate a public option.  I believe as Americans we have the right to be healthy; we can’t be healthy if people don’t have health care.”

Pine Island resident Denise Davis, a small business owner, told the crowd, “I’m very concerned about this bill. I am an uninsured American and I would rather have no insurance than a government run plan.”

Ball called the Fishkill session, as well as two others, to hear what’s on the minds of local people.

“The importance of these town hall meetings is that there are great ideas out there if the congressmen and the senators would just listen,” said Ball.

There are cost-cutting and pragmatic things that can be done such as allowing competition across state lines for insurance thus making it portable, Ball said. “We’ve got to crack down on runaway lawsuits, embrace small businesses and allow them to abridge the affordability gap, and “do everything we can to help people who are recently unemployed to keep their health insurance.”

 “I want to make sure that our Republican party is focused on passing comprehensive health care reform,” he said, “Republicans should focus on the crisis of cost, the crisis of the uninsured, and the crisis of runaway lawsuits.”

Democratic Congressman John Hall, meanwhile, will host his own healthcare town hall meeting at the Southern Dutchess NAACP Thursday evening.