The Wheeling Intelligencer: Capito Hears Health Issues

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By Joselyn King

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito toured Ohio Valley Medical Center Wednesday to see just how the Affordable Care Act is affecting hospitals and their patients, and she learned it will take administrators more time to determine results.

She asked hospital staff if the price is affecting the number of patients seeking care at the hospital.

"I've had two businesses tell me their costs have increased," she said. "One told me theirs jumped 27 percent, and the other 38 percent. They say they have less coverage, and are not being able to afford it."

She spoke with physicians John Holloway…. and Holloway told her the cost to provide health coverage to his own staff increased by 30 percent this year.

Capito… has voted more than 50 times to repeal it. She suggests Congress reform the bill and "keep what works."

She agrees with provisions of the law that prohibit insurers from discriminating on the basis of pre-existing conditions, and that allow young adults to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26.

"This law could have been worked out, but instead we created something that's dysfunctional," she said. "If we change the Senate, we can work to make changes to the bill and find bipartisan solutions that are market-based and increase the accessibility and availability of health care."

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