Senator Coburn On Town Hall Tour

News On 6

UNDATED -- The doctor of the Senate made a house call in Arkansas. Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn answered tough questions on health care reform at a town hall meeting Thursday in Bentonville.

He sat alongside a senator from Wyoming.

They're on a cross country tour, saying health care providers need to "trim the fat" and bring costs down.

When a reporter asked about the 47-million Americans without health insurance, Senator Coburn told him the problem was inflated.

"Let's talk about the 47,000,000 you continue to refer to. 11,000,000 are illegal immigrants. 16,000,000 are eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid today; they go anywhere, they're gonna get covered because they're eligible. We have 11,000,000 people making over $75,000 a year who choose not to buy insurance, so we actually have about 9,000,000 Americans who really need our help," said Sen Tom Coburn, (R) Oklahoma.

Coburn will be in New Orleans Friday.