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WILKES-BARRE — U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta said Thursday he has always favored a health care system that provides coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions — a hallmark of the Affordable Care Act — and he blasted his opponent for what he called a controversial, unnecessary political ad that “crossed the line.”
Barletta, 62, R-Hazleton, is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by two-term Democratic incumbent Bob Casey, 58, of Scranton.
When discussing the advertisement with the Times Leader editorial board, Barletta grew emotional when explaining how it impacted his family.
Barletta’s daughter, Kelly Randazzo, is the mother of 18-month-old twins. One of them, Jordan, has been diagnosed with cancer has has undergone 42 weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Barletta said Casey had two other ads that address the pre-existing condition issue, leaving him wondering why the senator continues to run the ad with a mother of twins talking about how removing that benefit would have hurt them.
Barletta said he told Casey more than a month ago about his grandson’s condition. Casey has insisted the ad was not about Barletta’s grandson.
“Do you really need to run that commercial?” Barletta asked. “It’s controversial and it’s hurting people. Nobody likes it.”
Barletta said he did vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, in January 2011. The next day, he said he co-sponsored a replacement for it that required pre-existing conditions be included.
According to information provided by Barletta’s campaign:
• On Jan 20, 2011, Barletta voted for H. Res. 9, which instructed the committees to begin working on a replacement plan. The requirements for a replacement plan included, among other things, protections for pre-existing conditions.
• 14 Democrats voted yes, including three from Pennsylvania.
• Obamacare did not go into effect until 2014.
• In May 2018, Barletta voted for the American Health Care Act, which provides protections for pre-existing conditions. The AHCA explicitly maintains protections for pre-existing conditions and prohibits insurers from:
— Denying or not renewing coverage due to a pre-existing condition.
— Rescinding coverage based on a pre-existing condition.
— Excluding benefits based on a pre-existing condition.
— Raising premiums on individuals with pre-existing conditions who maintain continuous coverage.
Barletta said 93 percent of Americans were protected by AHCA. He said Congress also provided funding to help the 7 percent who faced higher costs to be able to purchase their required insurance.
“I have never voted for any bill that did not include coverage of people with pre-existing condition,” Barletta said.
‘Illegals’
Following that lengthy discussion, the candidate discussed several key issues in the Senate race, including the economy, jobs and illegal immigration.
When he served as Hazleton’s mayor, Barletta faced a 50 percent increase in population while tax revenues remained the same.
“I stood up at a time when nobody else would,” Barletta said. “I saw this as a threat to our national security.”
He pointed to the caravan now headed to the U.S. through Central America that has 7,000 “illegals” trying to cross the border.
“Drugs are crossing our border every day, in addition to human trafficking,” Barletta said. “Why can’t we agree that we need to secure our borders? It doesn’t have to be a wall, but tighter security is needed. This affects all taxpayers,our schools and our communities. What part of securing our borders is wrong?”
Barletta took time to praise President Donald Trump and the administration for doing what was promised during the 2016 campaign.
“We have more jobs today than people unemployed,” Barletta said. “We have brought North Korea to the table, ISIS has gone away, jobs are returning from overseas, taxes are lower and our military is stronger. That’s why so many Democrats voted for Donald Trump.”
Barletta said he once was registered as a Democrat, but he noted the current Democratic Party is not the same as it was in the days of John F. Kennedy.
‘We can win’
Barletta wants to work to keep young people in Northeastern Pennsylvania through bringing high-paying, family-sustaining jobs to the area. He said the best way to reduce the number of people on Medicaid and other government-funded programs is by bringing more quality jobs. Barletta said many new job opportunities can come from the natural gas industry, clean coal and manufacturing.
He contends last year’s tax bill helped families. He said a family with average household income of $40,000 will see a $1,400 reduction in taxes this year.
Barletta admitted he had a disagreement with Trump regarding after-school programs — Barletta favors funding them; the president is opposed.
“I fought to keep that funding in the budget,” Barletta said.
And then the conversation returned to border security and the caravan.
“This is putting the American people at risk,” said Barletta. “We have to secure our borders. We need to continue growing the economy and we need to provide affordable health care.”
He called Pennsylvania a purple state, and noted he has always been able to get Democratic votes.
“This race is closer than many polls have shown,” Barletta said. “And we all know what happened in 2016 when the polls said Trump couldn’t win. We can win this race too.”
