Patrick Kennedy: Brown Misrepresenting Father's Health Care Legacy
BOSTON (AP) — Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy says his father's legacy on federal health care legislation is being misrepresented by Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown.
Brown, who favors giving employers and insurers broad moral and religious exemptions in health care coverage, is seeking election after winning the seat held for 47 years by Edward Kennedy.
Brown has quoted a letter from Kennedy to Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 that he believes "in a conscience protection for Catholics in the health field." Kennedy made the comments in the context of the fight over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul bill.
In an open letter Sunday, Patrick Kennedy, a former Democratic congressman from Rhode Island, tells Brown, a Republican, that his father's support for a conscience exemption is different from a current proposal that he says would allow employers or insurance companies to refuse coverage.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
