Candidate for Congress Confronts Woodall's Views on Healthcare

With elections just a few weeks away, the negative ads and earnest debate heat up.  

In a video titled "Why Doesn't Rob Woodall Want You to Have Health Insurance?" opponent Steve Reilly wonders why health insurance is not more of a priority to Woodall.   

He is referencing an exchange made in a , in which Ilene Johnson asked Woodall why he chooses to receive government-funded healthcare.

Johnson now works for Steve Reilly, and is the creator of the video.   

The Huffington Post followed up on Woodall's statements back in 2011, asking him whether he believes public officials should not receive government funded healthcare as a matter of policy.  

"Absolutely, federal health care options in Congress should mirror those offered in the private sector," said Woodall in an e-mailed response to HuffPost. "If these options are not available in the private sector, then folks working for the federal government should not have them either.

"There are bills being discussed to raise the amount that Members of Congress pay in to their benefits and I support these pieces of legislation. You might also be interested to know--and if you watched the entire Town Hall video you would have heard this as well--that I chose the cheapest health care plan available to Members of Congress--meaning that this is the plan in which the least amount of taxpayer money will be on the line for my health benefits."

Is Reilly's video a fair assessment? Tell us in the comments.  

For further reading, including a transcript of the conversation between Johnson and Woodall, visit the following links: