With the recent passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) by the U.S. House of Representatives, it is important to have an honest and truthful discussion regarding what the AHCA is and what it is not. But before we get into that, what does the health insurance marketplace look like in North Dakota? There…
About Those Pre-Existing Conditions
A caller to my radio show last week had a really good analogy for insurance. He said that we should imagine an insurance company as a bucket. The premiums we pay for coverage is water flowing into the bucket. In the bottom of the bucket, though, are holes which represent health care the insurance company…
John Andrist: Pondering Our Thirst for Government
Rarely does a news event so grip our nation as does the great medical debate, and it is no surprise the Republicans found no resolution. That is because we have an economic problem that simply has no political solution. Most Democrats really want a single payer, government health system. Republicans would really prefer a totally…
“A Sane Person to an Insane Society Must Appear Insane”
With President Barack Obama we had a relentlessly ideological national leader. His every move was calculated to advance the progressive agenda. President Donald Trump, on the other hand, measures his success much differently. He’s not terribly ideological. Rather, he’s focused on getting things done. I’m not exactly breaking new ground with that observation, but it’s…
Audio: Congressman Cramer Talks AHCA, Says He Doubts Trump’s Budget Will Hurt Fargo Diversion Project
Senator Heidi Heitkamp is in the media claiming President Donald Trump’s budget, which reduces funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, could put funding for the flood diversion project in Fargo in jeopardy. Today during our weekly open phones segment on WDAY AM970 (audio below) Congressman Kevin Cramer told me he doesn’t see it…
Matt Evans: I Don’t Think the Republican Health Care Plan Actually Fixes Anything I Care About
I live in an area with many farmers. Since corporate farming is illegal in ND, every farmer is, in effect, a small business owner. I was asking one of my farmer friends, “hey, what do farmers in our part of the country do about health insurance?” His answer was interesting. Basically, he said that if…
Podcast: An Internet Sales Tax in North Dakota and Kevin Cramer Town Hall
Below is the audio from today’s radio show. If you want the audio delivered straight to your podcasting app, click here. Jason Flohrs from Americans for Prosperity joined me to talk about SB2298, introduced by Senator Dwight Cook (R-Mandan), which would seek to collect the sales tax from companies which retail goods to customers in…
Video: Governor Doug Burgum Talks Obamcare and Corporate Tax Cuts on Fox Business
This Fox Business segment featuring Governor Doug Burgum actually broadcast back on Monday, but I just got around to watching it and thought it was pretty interesting. As Republicans in Washington D.C. grapple with how to unravel Obamacare, and replace it with something new, Burgum was asked which parts of the law he’d like to…
Rep. Kevin Cramer: Healthcare Reform Must Encourage Innovation
Within the next few weeks, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, of which I am a member, will begin drafting the first legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare. Voters in November sent a clear message that this must be a top priority this session of Congress. In the seven years since Obamacare was enacted, it…
Burgum Nails Answer to Medicaid Question
“This isn’t a little deal this is a big deal.” That’s what House Majority Leader Al Carlson said during a 2013 floor debate over the disastrous Obamacare law’s expansion of the state Medicaid program (video here). “This is a door from which you walk that you’re never returning. As long as I’ve been here…we’ve been…
