Valley News - Ayotte: Let's Solve Problems

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By Nora Doyle-Burr

U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., long an opponent of the Affordable Care Act, said Monday she is optimistic about prospects for amendments to improve it in the Republican-controlled Congress this year.

During a town hall-style meeting at the Charlestown Veterans of Foreign Wars post, Ayotte told a 30-person crowd that there are some changes to the health care law that President Obama is likely to veto, but there are others that would be of "bipartisan concern."

The first-term senator, who is up for re-election in 2016, said she would support changes, such as altering the definition of a full-time employee from one who works 30 hours per week to one who works 40 hours per week, expanding the network of health care providers where insurance bought on New Hampshire's exchange might be applied and reducing a tax on medical devices that she said would affect businesses such as Smith Medical in Keene, N.H.

She said she hopes that she, along with the new Republican majority in the Senate, can play a role in making such changes.

"If there's a problem I can solve, I will," she said.

In addition to altering the ACA, Ayotte said she hoped the upcoming legislative session, which begins today, would also include consideration of the nation's approach to energy - including the approval of the expansion of the Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline known as Keystone XL - as well as continued scrutiny of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Internal Revenue Service.

"We need an energy policy that is every form that we can get," Ayotte said in response to questions from the audience regarding energy costs and the challenges they pose to the state's residents and small businesses.

She said she anticipates votes this week that would help move along projects, such as the pipeline, which previously have been stymied by Democrats.

Obama has delayed a decision on Keystone and has not said whether he would veto a bill on the project. According to the Associated Press , White House aides say the president is waiting to see the text of the Keystone legislation before he makes a decision about what action he will take.

Ayotte said she would support the approval of the pipeline because it would help "advance North American energy independence" and create jobs, at least during construction. She said the nearly 1,200-mile project has gone through sufficient review since it was originally proposed in 2008. She said it has not been held up for review, but for "political reasons."

The audience included several members of the military and their families who wanted to know how Congress is working to improve the care provided at veterans hospitals across the country, including the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction.

"What is actually being done to hold (VA officials) accountable for (their) actions?" Charlestown's VFW Commander Tom St. Pierre asked.

Ayotte said that some officials have been fired, following revelations that veterans were receiving poor care at some of the country's VA hospitals last year. A reform bill signed into law in August provided the secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert A. McDonald, with broader authority to fire people, Ayotte said.

An additional provision of that bill allows those who live more than 20 miles from a VA hospital and within states, like New Hampshire, without their own full-service VA hospitals to choose private medical services.

Ayotte said she hoped the legislation would "put the choice back in the hands of veterans."

Charlestown resident Debra Monroe, whose husband, Herbert, served three tours in Vietnam and one in Desert Storm during the Gulf War, said she was disappointed with the care her husband received for congestive heart failure at White River Junction's facility.

She said several follow-up appointments at the VA were canceled after Herbert Monroe's stay there and once an appointment was made, he had to wait for hours before being seen. Debra Monroe said she and her husband were much happier with the care he is now receiving from a private health care provider in Charlestown.

As veterans have more options, Ayotte said, "the VA's going to have to up its game" to retain its patients.

Ayotte's proposals on health care were greeted by support from the audience.

Following the discussion, Charlestown Selectboard Chairwoman Brenda Ferland, who served in the New Hampshire House when Ayotte was New Hampshire's attorney general, said she liked Ayotte's answers to the challenges facing the country.

She said the town has struggled to keep part-time employees to fewer than 30 hours per week in order to avoid being forced to contribute to their health insurance premiums under the ACA. She is hopeful Ayotte's proposal to increase the workweek, as defined by the ACA, to 40 hours will protect the town's taxpayers from additional expenses.

Albert St. Pierre, of Charlestown, said he likes Ayotte's plans to expand the network covered by insurance purchased on New Hampshire's health care exchange.

St. Pierre, who owns St. Pierre Inc., a Charlestown-based sand and gravel company, said he no longer offers insurance to his 30 employees because he "couldn't afford to keep it with the subsidies employees get" on the federal health care exchange.

St. Pierre sits on the board of Springfield Medical Care Systems Inc., which has a Charlestown location, but said his insurance - purchased on the exchange - does not cover care provided at the Vermont-based hospital.

While he objects to the whole concept of government involvement in health insurance, St. Pierre said he supports Ayotte's plans for improvement. He is, however, skeptical of her likelihood of success.

"Washington is such a mess I don't know if she can get it done," he said. "God bless her for trying."

Following her visit to Charlestown, Ayotte made her way to Richmond, N.H., for an afternoon town hall meeting there. She planned to take an early flight back to Washington this morning.

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