Making Healthcare Affordable Again
December 16, 2016
The rolling hills and flatland of southeast and south central Missouri are a beautiful place during the Holiday Season; we take time to gather with family and friends, and we also reflect on the previous days and months throughout the year. For those of us who are Christians, Christmas is a joyful time of celebration for the birth of our savior, and also a reminder that the true spirit of the Holiday is the gift of giving itself.
One of the things we are often most thankful for this time of year is good health and well-being, but with escalating costs of care and government mandates coming in between you and your doctor of choice, our entire healthcare system is something that many families are rightfully concerned about this year.
Over the next week, I will be conducting half a dozen healthcare roundtables throughout southeast and south central Missouri. I plan to meet with doctors, patients, pharmacists, small business owners, families and anyone else interested in discussing the rising cost of care in this country. We need to have an open and honest discussion about the impact Obamacare has had on coverage and access to care, the collapsing of the Obamacare marketplace, and solutions for how we can provide fair, open, transparent and affordable healthcare coverage in this country. I will be hosting roundtables in Farmington, Cape Girardeau, Kennett, Poplar Bluff, West Plains and Rolla.
I believe it is important to hear directly from families about the struggles they are experiencing and the changes they would like to see in healthcare. I have already heard a great deal from people across southeast and south central Missouri who have been personally impacted by diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and opioid addiction who desperately want to strengthen research and delivery systems to find better treatments and ultimately cures for these diseases. I’ve also heard from parents whose children are suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy who want a cure so that their children can enjoy the same simple joys as other children. I’ve heard from the epilepsy community who want to accelerate the discovery and development of new therapies that individuals with epilepsy need to help them live their lives to the fullest potential, as well as the ALS community who are in desperate need of a treatment for ALS, which at this point has no effective treatment option and leaves patients with few options. And, I also heard from some of the 11,000 folks across southeast and south central Missouri who are living with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) who are some of those most in need of access to affordable and flexible high-quality care that they are currently being denied access to by the federal government.
These stories and the painful struggles so many families have shared have had a profound impact on me personally. Recently, “21st Century Cures” was passed and signed into law and while it included important provisions to advance medical research in this country, it also included language I authored to provide those with ESRD more choice, options and flexibility in their care coverage. My provision removed an arbitrary government rule which stood in the way of these patients from receiving the care they deserve.
My hope is that the healthcare roundtables we conduct in the coming weeks will bring forward more stories and issues and provide us a better understanding of how to address the real problems, while also making a difference for our families. The ideas and problems we identify will be something I can then work directly with the new Trump Administration and incoming Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price on in order to include those ideas in our healthcare replacement for the disastrous Obamacare. I have found the incoming Administration to be open and accessible and really interested in getting healthcare coverage right in this country while lowering out of pocket costs for patients. I want to share your ideas directly with them. I also hope to find better ways to work with the local resources we have like the recently opened Delbert Day Cancer Institute in Rolla which will help provide better treatments for cancer patients. However, perhaps the thing I am looking towards the most is the chance to meet new families, and make new friends, and provide greater hope during this season of giving.
Not Just Business as Usual
November 25, 2016
Unity. That is what I reflected on this Thanksgiving. It is a true testament to the remarkable character of Americans that after a divisive Presidential campaign season, we can all respect our differences and come together for the good of our country and for our future generations.
Since his electoral victory to become our next President, Donald J Trump, true to his word, has focused on unifying Americans. Whether it’s sitting down and meeting with leaders of the Democrat Party, establishment Republicans or taking the time to hear from those most critical of him over the past 18 months – our next President has focused on the exact things our current President has failed over 8 years to ever do – developing relationships and building consensus to put America, not a political party first.
Unfortunately, the national liberal media, who we discovered colluded with the Hillary Clinton campaign, remains obsessed with the fact that they haven’t been catered to every minute by our next President. They remain dedicated to their biased double standard and would have you believe the Trump transition is in a ‘chaotic state’ of sort. Unfortunately to their chagrin, our next President has spent more time charting a path for the future of our country, than doing the evening talk show circuit like our current Commander in Chief.
Truth be told, Donald Trump is ahead of where Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were at this point in their transitions into the White House. Even the former head of the liberal Obama campaign, David Axelrod has publicly condemned criticism of the Trump transition stating, “We hadn’t made any major announcements at this point in 2008, I don’t remember being criticized about it.”
In 2008, then President-Elect Obama had only named one Cabinet position by December 1st and still had multiple vacancies in his Cabinet at the start of January. President-Elect Bill Clinton didn’t even make his first Cabinet pick until December 10th! Since 1968, George H.W. Bush has been the only newly elected President to name any Cabinet level positions within the first 2 weeks of winning the Presidency and he had the ability to witness a Presidential administration as Vice-President for 8 years.
As our next President has had time to sit down and consult potential Cabinet Secretaries, what has emerged in his selections are some of the most qualified and skilled individuals to lead our country. The type of leaders who will reassert America’s rightful place in the world, who will stand with our allies, deter our enemies, and Make America Great Again here at home.
One of President-Elect Trump’s most recent selections of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education highlights our next President’s priority to move power out of Washington, away from bureaucrats, and back to the states and small town communities upon which this nation’s freedoms were founded. When I opposed the misleading Every Student Succeeds Act, I went against the Republican Party and our leaders, but I did so because I believed that it didn’t give enough control over our children’s education to the small towns and localities which know their children best. Education Secretary Nominee DeVos has stated that we should not have common core national standards and a one size fits all approach, she’s a reformer from outside Washington who supports local control. She is exactly the type of Education Secretary who will get Washington out of the lives and out of the classroom of every teacher and student across our nation and understands the purpose and potential of an education. Like Ben Carson said when he visited Sikeston, “what you do in the first 25 years of your life will lay the foundation for how hard or easy the next 50 years of your life will be.”
Donald Trump doesn’t owe anything to Washington insiders or party elite. He is accountable to the American people, that’s it, and that’s the way it should be. Donald Trump is a successful business leader who has spent his career surrounding himself with the best and brightest minds. He will continue to meet with Republicans, Democrats, economists, security experts, business leaders, military generals, farmers and hard working families to understand the right policies needed on day one to get our country moving forward again. I continue to be impressed and appreciative of the outreach and hard work of our next President – it’s a refreshing change from the government knows best approach of the last 8 years and a change overwhelmingly called for by the American people.
Celebrating Thanksgiving
Just a few weeks ago we came together as a nation to decide our future as we voted for the individuals who will lead us in the years to come. A few days later, we paused to honor and remember the efforts of the men and women who have fought to preserve our right to vote, and our many other freedoms. Now, as we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, it’s a time to give thanks for the many blessings we have as a people and a nation.
Unlike many other nations, we do have free and fair elections where the decisions of folks from all walks of life are counted equally. Even if you’re unhappy with the outcome of the elections, you have to admire a system that allowed all of our voices to be heard through the voting process. Even better, we are able to do this is in a nation where equality and opportunity are real things. We are fortunate to live in a land where dreams can come true through hard work and determination, and where the American Dream is a reality for those who pursue it.
And on a day where we give thanks, it is important to keep in our hearts and prayers the many men and women who continue to serve and protect our great nation. So many of them are away from home, and apart from those they love during a time of year when being with family means so much. They have put love of country above all, and for that we must give them our sincere thanks and gratitude.
It’s also during this time of the year when we should look beyond our own trials and tribulations, and ask what we can do to help those around us in need. As you give thanks with your family, I urge you to take the time to start this discussion. While you may have plenty, so many others do not. It is during the holiday season that a donation to the local food bank or the Salvation Army can mean so much for a family that otherwise would go without.
On a personal note, let me also say that I am extremely thankful to continue to have the privilege of serving as your state representative. It has been an honor and a blessing and an experience that has forever altered my life in a profoundly positive way. As I sit down with my own family this Thanksgiving, I will certainly have your family, and all the families of this district, in mind as I think about the legislative session that begins in January and the things we can do as a legislature to make our great state even greater. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve as your voice in the halls of government, and may you have a happy Thanksgiving.
Missouri State Senator Doug Libla Announces Intent to File Legislation Regarding Violence Against Law Enforcement
Jefferson City, Missouri - Today, Senator Doug Libla (R-Poplar Bluff) announced he will file legislation on December 1st enhancing penalties for those who are convicted of attacking law enforcement officers and first responders.
“Our law enforcement officers need to know that members of the Missouri General Assembly have their back,” stated Sen. Libla. “As Chairman of the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Safety Committee I will keep this important issue at the forefront of the committee and Missouri Senate’s agenda this upcoming legislative session.”
Under current law Missouri statute outlines the penalties for crimes, and allows for enhanced penalties on special victims, which definition includes law enforcement officers and first responders. Senator Libla’s legislation will further increase the penalties for specifically attacking law enforcement officers and first responders. “I am amazed and dismayed at the level of disrespect being shown to the brave men and women who have chosen to serve and protect us. For simply wearing the uniform our heroes are being targeted and attacked. This has to stop,” declared Sen. Libla.
Senator Libla was re-elected to a second term in the Missouri Senate earlier this month. He proudly serves the counties of Butler, Carter, Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Shannon and Stoddard. For the last two years he has served as Chairman of Senate Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Safety Committee.
Missouri - Governor-elect Eric Greitens launched his transition website, govelect.mo.gov this morning and encouraged Missourians with a desire to serve their state to apply.
"What we have earned is something sacred: the privilege to serve,” Governor-elect Eric Greitens said. “We are looking for the best and the brightest to join our mission to create more jobs, higher pay, safer streets, and better schools for Missouri."
Governor-elect Eric Greitens has selected his former Campaign Manager and current Senior Advisor, Austin Chambers, to oversee the transition. Additional members of the transition team will be announced in the coming days.
Those interested in serving Missouri should submit their resume, cover letter, and contact information through the website.
