Yesterday in Harrisburg, I happened to run into Congressman Scott Perry speaking to the media as I was making my way up to the state capitol. Congressman Scott Perry and Lou Barletta were at some sort of event inside the Pennsylvania Manufactures Association, and outside of the building Perry was discussing the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.
Here is a short transcript starting with the first question and full video below.
Reporter 1: In terms of the timeline where is Congress at as we speak in terms of finding that replacement plan? I know there are a couple of plans on the plate. Rand Paul has a plan and a couple of other Senators. Where does Congress stand right now with finding a plan?
Perry: So we had listening sessions last week to try and finalize some of the details, some of the finite stuff like in Medicaid and preexisting conditions and those policies I really think it is being fine tuned. I expect we’ll see something on paper, the legislative language, and I would think within the next four weeks. Give or take, somewhere in there.
Reporter 2: What do you want to say? We were at a small rally earlier at the capitol with people who want to defend the ACA. What would you want to say to those people who do have have insurance? We heard from a couple of people who couldn’t have gotten the treatment they needed without this. We hear a lot of those stories.
Perry: And I hear them too. They are coming to my office on a daily basis. Meeting after meeting after meeting. And I think we’re actually headed in the same direction. It’s the same destination. It’s how we get there. What they’re interested in is making sure there is affordable coverage for everybody. And of course they see things in the news. There’s conflicting reports and they’re confused and concerned and they have every right to be. At the end of the day, at the bottom line, is that we want to everybody to have affordable coverage. That’s what we want to do. In the context that the ACA is failing, it is failing under its own weight, it is unsustainable, it is unaffordable. All of the things people were told initially “$2,500 savings,” “if you like your plan, you can keep your plan” “if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” “it will cut down on emergency room visits” all of those things turned out not to be true. So we have a unique opportunity to end up at the same place where everybody has affordable coverage…..
The full video can be seen below.