Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) says he hasn’t read the legislation the House passed Thursday to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. What’s more, he says, it doesn’t matter, because the Senate is going to reboot the whole issue.
“What the House attempted to pass last time was not something that I found satisfactory,” says Moran, referring to the plan that was pulled before a vote in March. “So, we’ll take a look at this. But what I would say is, it doesn’t matter that much in the Senate, because we’re going to start from scratch.”
Moran says he wants that process to be very thorough, with lots of hearings, and plenty of input from all the stakeholders.
“And it’s an effort that’s designed not to just pass something, so that we can say we passed it,” says Moran of his aspirations for a Senate health care bill. “But, if we’re going to alter the current situation we make sure we do it in a way that improves the chances that more people affordable insurance, and there’s solid coverage."
Moran says he’d back health legislation that expands coverage, keeps health care affordable and protects hospitals. He says that’s going to be tough to achieve unless Democrats participate in the process.
Moran was at Kansas University Medical Center Friday to chat with biologists there about the $2 billion increase in medical research funding that he supported, and strategizing with them about how to further support medical research in Kansas and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Friday morning, more than 100 protesters gathered outside the old Overland Park office of Rep. Kevin Yoder (R.) angry over Yoder’s vote in favor of the House-passed repeal and replace bill.
Frank Morris is a national correspondent and senior editor at KCUR, a partner in the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @FrankNewsman.
