Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says it’s hard to negotiate solutions to rising health care costs when the government is shut down.
“The president and the administration are doing what they can to lower the cost of prescription drugs for the American people. I applaud them for doing that,” Hinson said this morning. “And I’ve had Iowans tell me they want lower costs, but they’re frustrated that the government is shut down, so I think most people see through what’s happening here, so we need to get the government open so we can continue those conversations.”
Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra, who is running for governor, has criticized continuing the Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies for Americans with incomes above 400% of the federal poverty line that were extended during the pandemic. Hinson, who’s running for the U.S. Senate, said Democrats put the subsidies in place “to mask” the rising cost of insurance premiums. “We can all agree that health care costs are way too high,” Hinson said. “It’s the Unaffordable Care Act. It’s not the Affordable Care Act…I want to work on solutions to lower the cost of care, expand access.”
Hinson has proposed a bill she says would improve access to breast cancer screening tests in rural areas. It calls for a 25% increase in the amount the USDA pays in a cost-share program for rural facilities that purchase mammograms, CT scanners and other equipment used to test for breast cancer. “Early detection gives hope a head start and saves lives,” Hinson said. “And I’m very proud to help introduce this bipartisan legislation that would strengthen federal resources for cancer prevention.”
Hinson, who spoke with Iowa reporters this morning during a conference call, said the shutdown is preventing discussion of this bill and other topics in congress and she rejected the idea congress needs to pass any stop-gap measures to fund SNAP benefits or address flight delays at airports by paying air traffic controllers. “If we get the government open, the air traffic controllers and the TSA agents will get paid and they’ll get their backpay for all of the weeks they have been working unpaid,” Hinson said. “…This is about Democrats using these people as leverage and now they’re putting the safety and security of Americans flying through our airports at risk.”
Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart said Republicans are “in total charge” of the federal government and “are failing to do their jobs.” The Republican-led House passed the temporary spending plan that has stalled in the Senate six weeks ago and hasn’t reconvened since then.