Hudson Touts House Passage of GOP Health Care Bill

Hudson, who is in his third term but the first representing Moore County, said the Republican bill — called the American Health Care Act — will lead to increased competition that will result in lower premiums.

While he did not address it during his talk, Hudson was asked about President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey in the wake an investigation into possible links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

“Some people, who for months were calling for Comey to be fired, are now outraged that he was fired,” Hudson said in a brief comment to The Pilot afterward. “I think everybody just needs to relax, take a deep breath and let the Senate investigation play itself out, a bi-partisan investigation.

“I do think the American people need to know the facts. Let’s let the facts come out before we start making a whole lot of assumptions and accusations.”

Hudson told the gathering that it was “tough” to get health care reform legislation through the House, passing strictly along party lines, after winning over various factions. The first attempt was delayed in March because there were too many Republican defections among both moderates and ultra-conservatives.

It now faces an uncertain fate the Senate where some Republicans have vowed to make changes.

“I’ve given up trying to predict what the Senate will do,” he said. “Given the realities, I don’t expect a lot of changes. My hope is they’ll be be able to make some changes to improve it. We’ll see.”

Hudson said passage of the bill is just one part of a three-pronged effort. The second, which is already being undertaken by new Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, involves rolling back some of the actions taken by the Obama administration that are intended to provide some relief for insurance companies now.

He said that under Obamacare, the words “shall” and “may” appear 1,400 times.

“Under Barack Obama, the secretary used those to force insurance companies to do more and more for less and less,” Hudson said. “That is why you are seeing Obamacare collapse. Obamacare is an absolute failure. … Insurance companies are losing money every day. They are telling us they can’t do this anymore. This not sustainable.”

Hudson said that in nearly 1,000 counties across the country, people buying insurance on the public exchanges, including many in North Carolina, have only one choice for a provider.

He said he stands by his vote for the Republican health care bill after hearing stories from constituents. Among those he cited Monday: a woman who is forced to pay for prescription drugs on her credit card and a man who has to work three part-time jobs to afford health care.

Hudson said many of those who were uninsured until Obamacare was passed are now finding they can no longer afford deductibles.

“They have a piece of paper that says they have insurance, but they can’t afford to use it,” he said. “This is an absolute disaster, and we’re on a rescue mission.”

‘Bald-Face Lie’

Hudson said the national media has zeroed in on the pre-existing conditions issues.

“We’ve got this legislation, if you turn on the TV, we’re going to kill 24 million Americans tomorrow,” he said. “The hysteria about this has been unbelievable. Truth is our bill keeps in place all of the pre-existing conditions protections that Obamacare had, all of them.”

Hudson said states can obtain waivers “but they can never waive that you have to be covered for pre-existing conditions.” He said they can raise the cap on what insurers can charge to someone who lets their coverage lapse for more than 63 days.

“If every state in the union gets a waiver, 115,000 Americans will be affected,” he said. “That’s not what you are hearing on the news. For the vast majority of Americans, even with the waivers, it doesn’t impact them, and anyone with continuous coverage.

“But if you buy your own insurance on the private market and you don’t keep continuous coverage, which is 63 days, then for one year, you can be charged more, then after a one year, you have continuous coverage and the caps go back in place.”

Hudson said the only way states can get waivers is “if they can demonstrate they’ve got a program that will pay the extra costs of anyone on the private market who has a pre-existing condition whose rates go up. So there has to be a stopgap in place.”

He added that the bill provides $130 billion for high risk pools.

“So the whole thing about pre-existing conditions is a bald-faced lie to scare people, and it is working,” said Hudson, who is a member of the House Energy and Commerce, where the health care bill originated. “It is unfortunate because real people out there are now confused. We’ve got to get the truth out there. The truth is we are keeping our promises. We are going to reduce premiums.

“At the end of the day, every American is going to have the ability to get insurance they want at a price they can afford. … We’re going to give you options on how you buy insurance through tax credits, to allow people to associate and buy insurance together.”

Liberals ‘Energized’

On another hot-button issue, Hudson said the national media is blowing disagreements out of proportion between Republicans in Congress and President Trump on his pledge to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Hudson said he made the remark last Friday at foreign policy and trade discussion in Raleigh that “we first need to secure our borders and enforce immigration laws. Securing our borders is not an immigration issue, it is a national security issue.”

“We need an ocean-to-ocean comprehensive plan to secure the border. I said it may be that we don’t need a 2,000-mile fence that looks the same all the way across. … We need to use technology.”

Hudson said he also strongly supports Trump’s immigration policies, including a temporary travel ban on people entering the United States from six Muslim-majority countries, which has been struck down in the courts.

“Congress gave the president legal authority to set immigration policy to determine who can come in and in what numbers,” he said. “Yet a judge out on the left coast somehow was able to block it. It’s been real disappointing but we’ve got to be determined.

“All were asking for is a simple concept: If we don’t know who you are, you can’t come in. If we know who you are and we can do a background check, then we’ll consider letting you be a refugee here.”

Hudson every state in the country has an investigation on potential terrorists, and about a third came here as refugees.

“So there is a real threat,” he said. “When ISIS tells us ‘we are going to use the refugee program to get people here to kill us,’ I believe them. I think it is foolish if you don’t believe them.”

When asked by a member of the audience about whether he would hold town hall meetings, Hudson said he sees no value in them.

“It is just a bunch of people shouting,” he said. “I don’t see what purpose that serves.”

He said he did one town hall in his first term and that most of those in attendance were Democratic or Republican activists.

Hudson said he is accessible and spends time in the district, noting that he has been in Moore County five times in an eight-day stretch. He said that he has conducted tele-town halls in which some 5,000 to 10,000 constituents are called and can ask questions.

Hudson closed by warning Republicans to get ready for the mid-term elections next year. He said while a lot of people are happy that Republicans control Congress and the White House, the other side is gearing up for a fight.

“Let me tell you, the other side, on a scale of 1 to 10 is on 11 in enthusiasm,” he said. “The liberals are absolutely energized because they see their grip on this vision of them making our decisions for us in America … slipping away. Because we’ve got a Congress and a president that believe individuals ought to make decisions about their government. That is why they are so hysterical.

“I am not going to be deterred any of the stunts they are pulling. You’ve got to be ready for it. They are going to be energized. They are going to turnout for the election.”

Hudson noted that Moore County had one of the highest turnouts in the state last year.

“We need you to do it again,” he said. “We can’t be complacent.”