By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
With the backdrop of Hays Medical Center Sen. Jerry Moran Saturday updated a group of local residents on efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Moran said he did not support the Affordable Care Act because of the limitations it puts on small business owners.
For those who say they support the act, he said Congress needs to find a middle ground to help all people.
“We need to figure out how to help you in your circumstance and not do damage to other people in their circumstance,” Moran said.
He said he would not have voted for the House’s version of a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, and he was glad the Senate is coming at a fix from a different approach.
He said he was not sure if any plan will be able to garner 51 votes in the Senate, although he hoped a solution could be found.
Although some would like to make health care a political issue, for many more it is a deeply personal issue, he said.
“I have had too many conversations with people we know on church on Sunday and with our kids’ teachers in which tears start streaming down their cheeks worried about what is going to happen particularly concerning pre-existing conditions and what this means in their family circumstance if changes are made,” Moran said.
Moran said he hoped committee hearings would be scheduled and experts brought in, but that is not what is happening.
He said he would like Republicans and Democrats to be able to offer amendments and figure out where the votes are.
However, Democrats have pledged no votes to change anything to do with the Affordable Care Act.
Moran said he wished to pay attention to how any changes would affect premiums, deductibles and coverage for pre-existing conditions for individuals.
However, he also thought it was important to take into consideration providers and rural hospitals.
“There is not a hospital that is in better financial condition today than when the Affordable Care Act passed,” he said.
This has a lot to do with increases in bad debt.
Moran also said he was concerned about the continued funding for Medicaid and the support of services for disabled persons who utilize that funding.
Moran said he really thought Congress should be dealing with the cost of health care and not the insurance system and questions of who pays.
“We are all fussing around with the system that pays instead of what do you do about the high cost of prescription drugs and what do you do about prescription drug companies who alter their formularies so they can get a longer patten and avoid brining generics to market,” Moran said….
“What do we do about the bureaucracy in health care? Could all the forms we get, whether it is Blue Cross Blue Shield or Medicaid, couldn’t they all be the same and uniform? Can’t we do something about the number of test we do not for medical purposes but legal liability purposes?”