U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, addressed several topics including health care and a new Missouri River port with Jefferson City business leaders Thursday at the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce.
Luetkemeyer addressed about three dozen members of the Jefferson City business community Thursday morning at the chamber's monthly Cole County Communities breakfast, where he was asked why he supported the American Health Care Act.
The bill proposed several changes to the Affordable Care Act and included provisions allowing insurance companies to price their products in a way that would lower costs for younger customers and offer health plans with higher deductibles and co-payments for people who want less comprehensive insurance. It also would have eliminated the ACA's employer mandate requiring large employers to offer coverage to their workers and the individual mandate, which charges a tax penalty to Americans who can afford insurance but do not obtain it.
The American Health Care Act also proposed substantial cuts to federal funding for state Medicaid programs. The bill passed the House on May 4, and Luetkemeyer voted for it. He said the Senate failed by not passing a similar bill designed to fix the ACA.
"We got our bill passed, and the Senate - they have dropped the ball so far," Luetkemeyer said Thursday.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated 14 million fewer people would be insured in 2018 if the American Health Care Act became law. The CBO also found an additional 8 million people would not buy health insurance in 2018 if the bill became law.
Garret Elliott, who addressed Luetkemeyer on Thursday, receives health insurance through Medicaid because of his status as a military veteran. Still, he supports the ACA.
"Why are you kicking people off of health care with your health care bill?" Elliott asked Luetkemeyer.
Luetkemeyer told Elliott the claim was untrue.
"The CBO said that 22 million people will decide on their own that they no longer want their health care," Luetkemeyer said.
Elliott told Luetkemeyer people would not be able to afford health care under the bill passed by the House. Luetkemeyer responded people can't afford health care coverage now under the ACA.
"We had a 135 percent increase in premiums in the last three years," Luetkemeyer added.
Elliott also criticized the provisions that proposed rolling back Medicaid coverage for poor and disabled people. Luetkemeyer said Medicare and Medicaid were designed to help disabled people and children, but the expansions of the programs under the Affordable Care Act put more stress on the system than it was designed to handle.
After the meeting, Elliott said he favors a single-payer health care system run by the federal government. He acknowledged taxes likely would increase under a system like this, but he also thinks it would lead to a more fair health care system. As current laws stand, Elliott believes Congress needs to let the Affordable Care Act work like it was designed to.
During the 40-minute meeting, Luetkemeyer also addressed a proposed Missouri River port for commercial barge traffic in Jefferson City. He said the Missouri River has potential to be a vital transportation system for Jefferson City area farmers to move commodities up and down the Missouri and Mississippi river systems.
Janet Weckenborg, who chairs the chamber's executive committee, said the chamber recently commissioned a study looking at the viability of a port in Jefferson City. She said the chamber should receive initial results of the study within eight to nine weeks, with the study to be finished sometime in November.
Luetkemeyer said he's working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on how to manage needs of upstream Missouri River communities, where several dams sit and prefer lower water levels for fish and wildlife, and downstream communities like Kansas City and Jefferson City that want to use the Missouri River for barge traffic, which generally needs higher water levels.
"This is a big project," Luetkemeyer said. "The river system we have is extremely important."