Health care and agriculture have dominated Kansas Congressman Roger Marshall’s current tour across the state.
Marshall’s tour is officially focused on health care, and on KVOE’s Newsmaker segment Wednesday he said he has been working to improve health care costs in several ways, notably with prescriptions. Marshall says more generics are coming on the market after adjustments in the approval process. He’s also working to reduce the influence of benefits managers, who he says serve as middlemen for buying pharmaceuticals and do nothing of benefit for patients.
As Kansas moves towards expanding Medicaid, Marshall cautioned against expansion, saying it’s more trouble than it’s worth at the physician level. He does not anticipate major changes or an effort to scrap the current system — at least not this year.
Marshall says agriculture has been a big talking point — especially after the recent passage of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement and a tentative “phase one” pact with China. Marshall says the state’s ag economic sector, which has struggled for several years now, could see a shot in the arm as a result of these two agreements — and he used the Emporia pet food sector as an example.
Marshall says beef exports to China could jump from $70 million to $1 billion this year. He’s also expecting overall ag exports to jump from $9 billion to $37 billion.
Off those topics, Marshall sharply criticized Democrats for what he views as warping or abusing the impeachment process against President Donald Trump. He says residents want the process to end so lawmakers can get back to work on other matters.
