Health care and I-69 bridge on Rep. Comer’s agenda

April 18--Like everyone in Henderson, Congressman James Comer of Kentucky's 1st Congressional District has the I-69 bridge at the forefront of his mind.

On Tuesday afternoon, Comer spoke before the Henderson lunch Lions Club and Rotary Club at a combined meeting about his thoughts and concerns regarding infrastructure, health care, tax reform and international conflicts.

"President Trump is going to propose a $1 trillion infrastructure bill," said Comer. "I said it during the campaign and I'll say it again; my number one priority is that bridge." Hearing that, many in the crowd applauded. "I really feel confident that that's going to be included in the president's initial bill. If it's not, it'll get put in along the way. It's the most important infrastructure project in the First District."

But with such a large number of projects, the question of money always arises.

When asked by an audience member about how the bridge would be funded, Comer responded that private investors and public-private partnerships may be the answer for many U.S. infrastructure projects across the nation but probably not for this new bridge between Henderson and Evansville.

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"When the trillion dollars comes down, there's not going to be a $1 trillion check we're going to have to write" as a country, he said. "Most of the projects in the urban areas can be public-private partnerships. This bridge, in my opinion, will not qualify for public-private partnership. (Public-private partnership) is a fancy way of saying that some private company is going to own the bridge and charge a toll to cross it."

Comer mentioned infrastructure bonds as a possible funding route for the I-69 bridge here. Another crowd member also brought up repatriation as another possible source of funding. Repatriation in this case is when money from foreign investors or companies is sent back to the United States.

Along with the I-69 bridge, broadband internet is a part of infrastructure the Congressman plans to focus on, especially in Kentucky's rural areas.

In his talk, Comer expressed that health care was a major concern of his.

"Whether you're a Republican or Democrat, a conservative or liberal, I hope that we can agree there need to be some improvements to our health care system," he said. "And I blame both parties. We need to band together and look at the problems we have with healthcare."

According to Comer, health care was not perfect before Obamacare and it is not perfect under Obamacare. Focusing specifically on Kentucky, Comer talked about the lack of carriers in rural parts of the Commonwealth and how a lack of competition has led to increased premiums.

Comer also discussed issues with Kentucky's Medicaid program. When Obamacare passed, Medicaid expanded in Kentucky. For the first three years, the federal government footed the bill 100 percent for the expansion, but now those three years are over.

"Now the state is going to have to pay," said Comer. "If you're talking about paying 10 percent for that expanded Medicaid population, which is more than half a million in Kentucky, that 10 percent is enough to bankrupt the state of Kentucky. The goal of the health care bill is to allow flexibility with the states. It gave states the ability to re-enroll everyone on Medicaid. It would give them the flexibility to manage their Medicaid programs more efficiently as well."

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