|
In
this
week's
edition
of
E-News:
Murphy
to
Slavitt:
I
don’t
want
estimates
Greene
County
Commissioners
Meet
with
Murphy
Murphy
Recognized
as
'Guardian
of
Small
Business'
SWPA
Veterans
Visit
U.S.
Capitol
Murphy
to
Slavitt:
I
don't
want
estimates
On
Wednesday,
Congressman
Murphy
demanded
answers
from
Acting
Administrator
of
the
Centers
for
Medicare
&
Medicaid
Services,
Andy
Slavitt
on
the
rising
premium
rates
and
overall
sustainability
of
the
Affordable
Care
Act
(ACA)
during
a
joint
Energy
and
Commerce
subcommittee
hearing.
 |
| Murphy,
Chairman
of
O&I,
questions
Administration
officials on
Obamacare
failures. |
In
2015,
Congressman
Murphy,
who
chairs
the
Oversight
&
Investigations
Subcommittee,
led
an
investigation
into
two
failed
programs
of
the
ACA:
State-Based
Exchanges
(SBEs)
and
Consumer
Oriented
and
Operated
Plans
(CO-OPs).
The
findings
of
the
investigation
revealed
insolvency,
careless
management,
and
billions
in
wasted
federal
funds.
Murphy's
4
'must-see'
moments
from
the
hearing
are
below:
- “I
don’t
want
estimates.
I
want
hard-core
data,
with
regard
to:
‘Are
premiums
going
up
or
not?’
All
the
data
we
see
is,
they’re
going
up.”
- “Have
you
shared
this
information
with
Aetna,
United
and
Humana?
Because
the
fact
that
they
bailed
out
of
the
market,
saying
this
is
out
of
control
—
maybe
you
have
a
breakthrough
these
companies
haven’t
seen.”
- “We’ve
already
given
them
[CO-OPs]
$1.8
billion
in
American
taxpayer
loans,
so
when
you
say
‘sufficient
capital’
you
mean
we’re
going
to
give
them
more?”
- “The
fact
that
[premiums
are
being]
subsidized
is
phony.
It’s
absolutely
phony.
How
can
you
have
premiums
going
down…
if
we’re
still
bailing
out
insurance
companies?
Premiums
aren’t
going
down
-
they’re
being
subsidized.”
SBEs,
organizations
set
up
to
facilitate
the
purchase
of
health
insurance,
have
wasted
$4.6
billion
in
federal
grant
funding
and
four
out
of
the
original
17
SBE’s
have
shut
down.
While
the
Administration
claimed
that
SBE’s
would
be
self-sustaining
by
January
1,
2015,
every
SBE
continues
to
use
taxpayer
money.
CO-OPs,
designed
to
encourage
healthy
competition
within
the
individual
and
small
group
health
insurance
markets,
have
also
had
costly
failures,
totaling
up
to
$1.8
billion,
and
17
out
of
the
original
23
CO-OPs
have
closed,
the
most
recent
of
which
occurred
this
week
in
New
Jersey.
Click
here
to
watch
Murphy's
full
exchange
with
Slavitt
and
here
to
watch
the
full
hearing.
To
share
your
thoughts
on
the
Affordable
Care
Act
and
health
insurance
premium
rates,
click
here.
Greene
County
Commissioners
Meet
with
Murphy
Known
as
the
“The
Cornerstone
of
the
Keystone
State,”
rural
Greene
County
is
located
in
the
southwestern
corner
of
Pennsylvania.
Since
the
county’s
founding
in
1796,
the
rolling
hills
and
vast
acres
of farmland
have
been
home
to
generations
of
families
and
industries
that
continue
to serve
as the
region’s
backbone.
But
in
recent
years,
an
onslaught
of
regulations
from
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(EPA),
have
wreaked
havoc
by
putting
the
brakes
on
coal
mining.
 |
| Murphy
meets
with
Greene
County
Commissioners
in
Washington. |
Greene
County
Commissioners
Blair
Zimmerman,
Archie
Trader,
and
Dave
Coder
met
this
week
with
Congressman
Murphy
to
discuss
strategies
for
bolstering
the
job
market
and
working
together
to
revive
the
communities
most
hard-hit.
The
group
discussed
how
the
EPA
does
not
take
into
account
the
devastating
impact
these
regulations
are
having
on
Greene
County
families,
even
when
the
environmental
rules
have
no
significant
impact
on
environmental
improvements
and
only
fulfill
an
anti-coal
agenda.
Coal
emissions
have
fallen
by
more
than
56
percent
in
the
last
three
decades,
but
the
War
on
Coal
continues,
not
only
impacting
local
jobs
but
overall
quality
of
life.
One
of
the
consequences
of
this
anti-coal
crusade
is
growing
addiction
rates.
Green
County
is
ranked
fifth
in
the
Commonwealth
for
overdoses
per
population
level,
as
abuse
of
and
addiction
to
opioids
has
taken
a
drastic
toll
on
the
health,
social,
and
economic
welfare
of
the
County.
This
terrifying
problem
has
resulted
in
negative
consequences
not
only
for
those
addicted
to
drugs
but
also
for
their
families
and
friends,
local
businesses
and
government
resources.
In
2015,
Greene
County
residents,
law
enforcement,
social
services
providers,
medical
providers,
and
other
stakeholders
formed
the
Coalition
for
a
Brighter
Greene
to
raise
awareness,
remove
blame
and
stigma,
and
combat
what
has
taken
the
lives
of
over
3,000
Pennsylvanians
in
the
last
five
years.
Murphy,
who
has
been
convening
forums
across
Southwestern
Pennsylvania
on
ending
the
opioid
crisis,
pledged
to
continue
working
together
to
provide
resources
for
treatment
and
pathways
to
new
jobs.
To
share
your
thoughts
on
Greene
County
issues,
please
click
here.
Murphy
Recognized
as
"Guardian
of
Small
Business"
On
Wednesday,
Congressman
Murphy
was
recognized
as
a
'Guardian
of
Small
Business'
by
the
National
Federation
of
Independent
Business
(NFIB),
America’s
leading
small
business
association,
in
recognition
of
his
outstanding
small
business
voting
record
during
the
114th
Congress.
"I
was
honored
and
proud
to
receive
the
Guardian
of
Small
Business
Award
today
from
NFIB,"
said
Congressman
Murphy.
"Small
businesses
are
the
engine
of
America.
With
over
56
million
people
employed
by
small
business
nationwide
and
2.4
million
in
Pennsylvania,
protecting
this
industry
needs
to
be
a
top
priority
for
all
lawmakers
in
Washington.”
 |
|
Murphy's
NFIB
Award
on
his
desk
in
Washington. |
According
to
NFIB,
in
order
to
be
named
a
'Guardian
of
Small
Business',
lawmakers
must
vote
with
small
business
on
key
issues
70
percent
or
more
of
the
time
during
the
114th
Congress.
“Many
elected
officials
claim
that
they
are
champions
of
small
business,
but
our
Guardian
Award
shows
our
members
and
other
small
business
owners
who
is
really
fighting
for
them,”
said
NFIB
President
and
CEO
Juanita
Duggan.
“Based
on
his
voting
record,
Rep.
Murphy
is
one
of
the
most
reliable
advocates
for
small
business
in
Washington.”
More
information
about
specific
pro-business
legislation
supported
by
Murphy
is
below:
- America's
Small
Business
Tax
Relief
Act
(H.R.
636)
-
Provides
permanent
Section
179
small
business
expensing
levels
at
$500,000,
which
is
predictable
and
adequate
to
the
needs
of
small
businesses.
- Death
Tax
Repeal
Act
of
2015
(H.R.
1105)
-
Repeals
the
estate
tax
once
and
for
all,
which
provides
much
needed
tax
relief
for
small
businesses.
- Save
American
Workers
Act
(H.R.
30)
-
Changes
the
Patient
Protection
and
Affordable
Care
Act's
(ACA)
definition
of
a
full-time
work
week
from
30
to
40
hours.
To
share
your
thoughts
on
the
economy,
jobs,
and
small
business
issues,
click
here.
SWPA
Veterans
Visit
U.S.
Capitol
Every
year
since
1949,
the
Veterans
of
Foreign
Wars
(VFW)
hosts
an
annual
Legislative
Conference
in
the
nation’s
capital.
This
week
VFW
commanders
from
across
the
Commonwealth
of
Pennsylvania visited
Congressman
Murphy’s
Washington
office
to
discuss
their
legislative
priorities
for
2016.
Southwestern
Pennsylvania
VFW
Commander
Nelson
Lowes
of
Ligonier
shared
with
Rep.
Murphy
ideas
on
how
to
improve
the
Veterans
Access,
Choice,
and
Accountability
Act
of
2014,
which
establishes
the
Veterans
Choice
Program.
This
program
allows
veterans
who
have
waited
more
than
30
days
for
care
(or
reside
more
than
40
miles
from
a
VA
medical
facility)
to
receive
care
from
non-VA
doctors
in
the
local
community.
 |
Southwestern
PA
VFW
Commanders
share
ideas
with
Rep
Murphy
on
ways
to
improve
veterans
care. |
The
veterans
also
expressed
their concerns
over
the
VA’s
ongoing
disability
appeals
process
backlog.
This
week Murphy
supported,
and the
House
passed,
the
VA
Accountability
First
&
Appeals
Modernization
Act
to
overhaul
the
VA
current
appeals
process.
Under
the
bill,
veterans
will
have
a
choice
to
follow
one
of
three
"lanes"
for
an
expedited
appeal
when
they
are
dissatisfied
with
the
VA
Regional
Office's
initial
appeal
decision.
Ending
veteran
suicide
and
homelessness
was
also
a
priority
for
the
local
VFW
members.
To
fix
this
ongoing
problem,
Murphy
introduced
the
Enhancing
Veterans'
Access
to
Treatment(EVAT)
Act,
legislation
to
ensure
veterans
using
VA
care
can
continue
to
receive
the
same
lifesaving
mental
health
medication
they
had
while
on
active-duty.
Murphy's
EVAT
Act
requires
the
VA
mental
health
drug
formulary
to
match
the
Department
of
Defense's
formulary (DOD)
and
that
any
veteran
transferring
from
the
DOD
to
the
VA
be
kept
on
the
same
medications
for
as
long
as
medically
necessary.
“For
veterans
dealing
with
invisible
injuries
who
are
on
the
path
to
recovery,
the
VA
drug
formulary
acts
as
a
road
block,”
said
Murphy.
“The
EVAT
Act
eliminates
this
obstacle
by
allowing
a seamless
transition
of
care
and
leaves
medical
decisions
to
the
doctor
and
veteran.”
Rep.
Murphy
is
also
the
lead
cosponsor
of
the
Homeless
Veterans
Assistance
Fund
Act
(H.R.2591),
which
creates
the
Homeless
Veterans
Assistance
Fund
and
offers
taxpayers
an
opportunity
to
help
keep
veterans
off
the
streets
by
making
a
voluntary
contribution
to
the
fund
on
their
federal
income
tax
return
form.
To
share
your
thoughts
on
veterans’
issues,
please
click
here.
|
