Each month I want to provide you with regular updates about what’s going on in our nation’s capital and throughout the 4th District of Kansas. Here’s what has happened in February.
Surprise Medical Billing
An emergency room visit or scheduled procedure can be even more stressful if it’s followed by an unexpected medical bill from an out-of-network provider. Even when Kansans do their due diligence to find covered providers, an out-of-network medical practitioner at an in-network facility can result in a surprise bill that harms the patient and their family.
Earlier this year I was proud to sign on as an original cosponsor to the bipartisan Consumer Protections Against Surprise Billing Act. The bill was introduced by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Massachusetts) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-Texas), and our committee had the opportunity to discuss and mark up the legislation.
I’m pleased to support this bipartisan legislation that protects patients from receiving surprise bills while providing greater transparency in the process. The Consumer Protections Against Surprise Billing Act removes surprise billing burdens from patients, empowers patients with up-front information for scheduled procedures, protects patients when emergency services are provided, creates a fair mediation process for providers and insurers, and contains no minimum dollar threshold to bring forward disputes.
This legislation is something that Democrats and Republicans should be proud of and will prevent so many Kansans from experiencing the stress and heartache of surprise medical bills.
The Ways and Means Committee passed the legislation unanimously and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to pass this critical legislation.
Pro-Life Updates
Kansans value life and repeatedly reaffirm their commitment to the unborn.
Recently the Ninth Circuit court upheld common sense regulations I championed in 2018 requiring abortion providers, like Planned Parenthood, to be physically and financially separate from family planning clinics, ensuring that taxpayer money is not used to fund abortion. These rules do not cut any funding for women’s health, but instead ensure that taxpayer dollars are utilized the way Congress intended.
However, politicians in our nation’s capital continue to devalue the unborn and ignore science.
The day after the Ninth Circuit’s decision, Senators voted to prevent further action on two common sense bills.
The first bans abortions after 20 weeks when a child can feel pain. The second requires health care practitioners to provide the same care to survivors of a botched abortion as they would any other child.
Unfortunately in the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi refuses to even bring legislation like the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act up for a vote.
I’ll continue to stand with Kansans in fighting for the most vulnerable among us.
Acquitted
Our founders established a Constitution and a government that is rooted in freedom, truth and the will of the American people.
The articles of impeachment that were passed in the House and debated in the Senate did not reach the Constitution’s threshold of high crimes and misdemeanors, as confirmed by the final vote. Instead, they threatened the very core of our republic. I voted against the disastrous impeachment articles last fall and was pleased to see the Senate acquit the president on both counts this year.
The Senate’s acquittal thankfully closes a dark chapter in our nation’s history.
The Kansans I’m honored to represent have told me for many months that it is time for Congress to move beyond these divisive, partisan games and focus on real legislation that affects the American people – lowering health care costs, securing our border and reigning in out-of-control government spending.
Market Facilitation Program
In May of 2019, the USDA announced the authorization of $16 billion in aid programs through the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), Food Purchase and Distribution Program (FPDP) and Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP). In February, the USDA announced that MFP payments are starting to be made now.
Thanks to completed trade deals like the USMCA and the Phase One agreement with China, farmers and ranchers in Kansas will have access to more markets in 2020 that can boost their bottom line. However, I am glad the Trump administration has made this program available to farmers still feeling the impact of tariffs and other market pressures.
Between this assistance and new trade deals, farmers and ranchers in Kansas and throughout our country can continue feeding the world.
Details on MFP, FPDP and ATP programs can be found online at usda.gov.
Connect with Me
Interested in getting regular updates about what’s going on in Congress? Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter at https://estes.house.gov/ and please don’t hesitate to reach out to my District Office in Wichita at 316-262-8992 if you have questions or concerns.
Ron Estes is a 5th generation Kansan and represents Kansas’ 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means.
