Repealing the Affordable Care Act will be one of the first priorities congressional Republicans have, when the legislative session starts in January. That’s according to U.S. Representative Jackie Walorski.
As for what replaces it, she envisions something that provides more freedom for states and individuals. “We created the Healthy Indiana Plan in the State of Indiana, and it’s one of the most incredibly popular programs,” she says. “It got knocked out under Obamacare. We had to get a waiver to bring it back, and I think 20 other states now are using the model that we set in the State of Indiana. I think you’ll see things like the high-risk pool coming back in Indiana, which actually worked for people that were just too high-risk to insure, and it was a program that people loved.”
Walorski also plans to look at allowing health insurance to be competitively marketed across state lines. She says she envisions a system that takes the government out of health care, putting patients and doctors back in charge. Part of that is making sure that individuals can choose their own doctors.
However, Walorski says a few protections may be left in place, “We’re going to work on the preexisting issue, and then keeping young adults covered by their parents at 26, if folks want to do that.”
She adds that she’s excited about the changes coming to Washington in 2017. “I’ve probably voted 40 times to repeal Obamacare,” she says. “A lot of them have been symbolically, to speak to the county and to speak to the president. But I think on the wave that Trump is riding on who voted for him and how he won – he’s not just a Republican president, he’s Democratic and independent, as well – and that is an issue big to the American people, and they spoke loudly about it in this election.”
Walorski’s comments followed a meet-and-greet Tuesday in Winamac. During the event, she said she anticipates additional resources to deal with mental illness. She’s also calling for Trump to appoint a new VA secretary, to improve services for veterans.
