Following the narrow House approval of the American Health Care Act, the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, health care and pre-existing conditions took up most of the hour that Congressman Roger Marshall spent in a Salina Town Hall meeting this morning. The meeting was held at 7:30 a.m. this morning at the Chamber Annex.
A 21-year-old Kansas State University psychology student was one of the first to expressed concern about the possibility of rising health care costs. “I was diagnosed with bipolar at 15-years-old. After six years of medication, therapy, even a hospitalization, my diagnoses is technically in remission.” The student said she was worried about being placed in “high-risk pools,” that could dramatically increase health care cost.
Marshall said that he believed the new healthcare plan would better protect people with pre-existing conditions because it is more sustainable for the long term. “The healthcare plan you are in now is going to fold…,” Marshall said. “These pools are set up to help people just like you and I think you will be in better shape at the end of the day.”
According to the Kansas City Star, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed legislation that would have expanded Medicaid in late March. This also sparked another round of questions concerning low-income Kansans with pre-existing conditions. “I don’t believe there will be enough money in there to cover the 30 percent of Kansans… Our state has 30 percent with preexisting conditions,” a Salina resident said.
Those covered by Medicare and Medicaid won’t be impacted by the new healthcare plan, according to Marshall. “When you say 30 percent of Kansans are high risk, but only seven percent of those 30 percent get their insurance through the private market.”
Marshall added that the current system was prejudice against young and healthy people and didn’t encourage them from getting into the system. This is why it needed to be repealed and replaced, not repaired, he said.
“The bottom line is, short of throwing more money at it, there is no other fixes,” Marshall said. “I am still not convinced throwing money at it will fix it.”
Salina was the first stop in Marshall’s May Listening Tour. Over 100 people attended the morning meeting, leaving only standing room. Following the meeting, Marshall said toured the Smoky Hill Weapons Range planned.
After lunch, Marshall was featured as the Heartland’s Reader of the month, reading to a class of pre-k head start students at Heartland Early Education. He was greeted at the door by a small group demonstrators.