State Rep. John J. Loughlin II, R-Tiverton, is moving forward with plans to host a "town hall" meeting on national health-care legislation, despite plans by his likely Congressional opponent, Patrick J. Kennedy, to host an invitation-only health-care forum this Saturday.

"I think the general public needs a way in. it doesn't change anything," Loughlin said of Kennedy's scheduled appearance Saturday morning at the Providence Marriott, open to the media and invited members of the Rhode Island AARP, the Rhode Island State Nurses Association, and the Retired Teachers Association, according to AARP communications director Barbara Peters.

"I'm asking for the general public for a chance to weigh in on probably the most important piece of legislation to come out of Washington in decades," Loughlin said Tuesday.

Kennedy is the only member of Rhode Island's congressional delegation not to have hosted a public forum to discuss health-care legislation moving through Congress. He canceled tentative plans to host a town hall following the death of his father. He hopes to host a telephone-based forum in the coming weeks, according to his office.

Loughlin, meanwhile, announced plans Friday to host his own forum on Sept. 30 in Tiverton, largely to allow members of the First Congressional District to ask questions and voice their concerns. Loughlin, who hopes to defeat Kennedy in the 2010 election, said he would record his event and send the DVD to Kennedy's office.

"I'm trying to be helpful," Loughlin said last week. "This is a means of trying to answer questions my constituents have they're not getting answered by their congressman."