He is cosponsoring an amendment that would create a federal program for risk sharing. Other topics at the town hall concluded equal pay for women come a tax reform, and federal spending. This is just over an hour. [applause] palmer before we start, i just want to thank the police and detectives who are here tonight. We have taken them away from their families, and i do not take that lightly. I do not take that for granted. Lets thank the city for putting on this event and for doing such a good job with the sacrifices they are making. [applause] palmer well i typically do is were still getting some feedback up my pacemaker or something if we you if you raise your hands, we will get a microphone to you for your questions. We will start over here with the lady in the gold sweater. What i will do is work side to side, that, back side to side and backback and back up. I want to thank you for being here. I really want to talk about the Affordable Care act. I heard you were in favor of. Igh risk pools i wanted to tell you about my personal situation. I have been an independent contractor for most of my adult life, and i have had Health Insurance the highest paid for four most of my whole adult life. When i was 42 years old, i developed a rare disease that is not exactly diabetes, but it mimics the symptoms. I take one pill a day which is a fairly inexpensive fix. But since i have that, i am considered that i have a preexisting condition. I lived in louisiana before we moved back into our home state of alabama three years ago. Healthn a high Risk Insurance pool, because this was before the Affordable Care act, so i was in a high risk pool. While i was in that high risk pool, i had caps on all my medicine it was a lifetime medicine, and or i paid much higher premiums than i am paying now. I get no subsidy. My sister, who just recently passed away of breast cancer, her medication cost 25,000 a month. Mris petnot include scans and doctor visits, all the things she had to go through while fighting the battle of her life. Will youis this stabilize what we have now . Increasenges, and subsidies for the individuals who need it . Do you promise to ensure medicaid as an entitlement and bring Medicaid Expansion to more states . [applause] palmer first of all, let me explain that what we are putting into the American Health care act is not a high risk pool but a high risk agreement similar to what the city of state of maine has. You will be treated just like every other person. They do not distinguish whether you have a preexisting condition or not. If you have a preexisting condition, you buy your insurance, and the price will be pretty much what everyone else pays in the market, but the Insurance Company will put that policy into a risk sharing arrangement with the federal government. It would be a threeyear federal plan, and 90 of the premiums would go to funding back. The Insurance Company has some skin in the game. Let me finish. The insurance if you have a catastrophic illness or an injury, your bills are going to be paid. But it will bring premiums down for everybody else. In maine, it brought down premiums for can you all hear . Can you hear me . You cant hear me in the back . Tell you what, you might turn up those microphones while i am trying to talk. Lets try that. Lets see if that helps. Does that help . Youre getting feedback. It brought down premiums for people in their 20s by almost 5,000. For older people by 7,000. The number of people with insurance went up and the age average age came down. That meant younger people were buying insurance. But we are trying to do is set up a risk sharing arrangement where it is really the whole community contribute through this backed , up by the federal government. The bill already had 100 billion in stabilization funds in the bill. We have added another 15 billion to that so this can be fully funded and it allows the Insurance Companies to work within the same parameters. After the third year the states will take it over. You will not have issues with preexisting conditions or denial of coverage. This whole issue of Central Health benefits is taken care of. You will be treated like anybody else. It will bring premiums down so people can buy insurance if they want and they can afford it. They can afford to use it. On the medicaid side of things, i am not for expanding medicaid. I am for giving the states a way to manage medicaid to get more money to the people who need it. Last year we set out 36. 3 billion in improper payments on medicaid. Two days ago, it was reported not working . Can you hear me in the back . No. Is that good or bad . [laughter] we may want to turn this off. Thank you. On . His s is better . We are going to wear a lady with the microphone am afraid. Ladyy, it was reported a was just sentenced to federal prison for medicaid fraud. We cannot afford to waste 36 billion a year and mismanagement and fraud and inefficiencies in medicaid and there are people who need it. That is my position on it. Yes, and the blue . The lady behind her. Yes . Thank you so much for being here. And roll tide. Rep. Palmer roll tide. But my kids went to auburn. And that is not a political statement, that is what happened. This is kind of hard. 10 days ago my beautiful phd candidate daughter had to get the emergency room because she had cut herself so badly that she needed stitches. Rep. Palmer is she ok . She is, thank you. Well, from that she is ok. Five years ago come in the midst of two years of repeated hospitalizations, including two for attempted suicide, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In two months, she turns 26. She comes off of my employee insurance. She will join the ranks of 1. 5 million alabamians with preexisting conditions. Some of those conditions are mental illnesses, some are cancer, asthma, diabetes, etc. I know you just address this, but im really concerned that these 1. 5 million alabamians, including 300,000 here in district 6, that they could lose their affordable comprehensive coverage. I heard what you are saying and read a little about the main program. But i am wondering if it is what you say it is, if you could commit, if you could write and distribute a letter to congress that says that you commit to opposing any legislation that discriminates in any way against people with preexisting conditions. [applause] rep. Palmer let me find this. We are working on one final addition to the American Health care act, in addition to the risk sharing program, which again, write it down, try to understand it, people with preexisting conditions will not be treated any differently than anybody else. I cannot emphasize that enough. I know you dont believe it and a lot of you want a singlepayer system. That is not happening. You need to understand what we are going to do. I think when you fully understand it you will be good , with it. Tweak we are trying to make to this that takes it clear there will be a prohibition on denying coverage due to preexisting medical conditions. A prohibition on discrimination based on gender. Guaranteed issue to all applicants. Is it me that is causing the feedback . Isnt this microphone . Guaranteed renewability of coverage. Coverage of dependents on parent plans. And Community Rating will accept where there is limited waivers. I cant make it any clearer. You can keep asking the question, and ill keep giving you the same answer. I grew up dirt poor. My brother and i shared a bedroom and had cardboard between two by fours. We had an outhouse and bathed in a creek. I understand. My appendix burst when 12yearsold, and on a handshake the doctor saved by life, and my dad paid the bill. That was in 1966. In october of 1966 the mother gave birth to my brother in immediately developed adult diabetes. Again, a handshake with my dad and the doctor, and he paid the bill. We are way, way past those days. I get it. But i understand where people are believe me. , in the back, the lady in the pink. Renee, were going to wear you out. Thank you for coming tonight. Thank you for the opportunity to come and ask you questions. My question is in reference to the United Mine Workers retirees insurance. It is up for a vote now. I know i have talked with you and you said you support it but , you would talk to your constituents and talk to your other people there that would be voting. I would like to know where you stand and who is standing with you . This is something i retired from the government, and i had a letter from United Mine Workers saying i would have insurance for life. We know that is not going to the. Going to be. I like to know where i stand on the insurance. Rep. Palmer the letter from the mine workers said they would have Health Insurance for life, or you would . What did the letter say to you . I didnt understand. When i retired, i had an option for keeping insurance when i retired. [indiscernible] if something happened, what i have insurance for life . They wrote me a letter i have a copy of that home. [indiscernible] rep. Palmer all right, i think the Health Benefits are going to be taken care of and what we are calling the cromnibus that will take care funding to the end of the year. The other issue relating to the minors is being worked on. The guy that i worked with on this and i touch base with on a regular basis is a congressman David Mckinley from West Virginia. They really have a vested interest in this. Im staying in touch with congressman mckinley on this and he is taking the lead on it. Over here. I see the bare arm and rolled up sleeve. It is a lady. Oh, sorry. I am sorry. I could not see you. Mr. Palmer thank you for , being here. I am one of the organizers of birmingham, alabamas march for science. We sent your office a registered letter invitation over a month ago and had no response. We are a Family Friendly event, we are nonpartisan. We would like to see you there to support science in our city. 1 10 of the jobs in birmingham, uab. We would like to see you there, bring your kids committees and do some experiments. Come to our table and meet your community and come appreciate the organizers that are working for your community. Rep. Palmer when is the event . Saturday. 10 00 to 4 00. Rep. Palmer i cant be there saturday, but i am having lunch with a group of scientists from uab on monday. I will be at that lunch, actually. We would love to see you. If you can make it for five minutes in the morning or afternoon, we would like you to be there. Rep. Palmer if i can get there, i will try to get there. I will be out of town saturday. I will see you at lunch on monday. Renee. Thank you for coming congressman palmer. Im a huge supporter of you. Probably unlikely rarest of black republicans in this community. I support you wholeheartedly. I remember you came to hoover and it was a lot of people out there that were saying some ugly things about you. I stood up for you and i even got a couple supporters out there, recorded them. We just love you, we want you to know that. I know you initially supported another candidate, and i know we are approaching our first 100 days. I was wondering what your opinion on trump right now . I also support trump as well. Palmer i had not met President Trump until he spoke to the joint session of congress. Some of you may have seen me as he was leaving the chamber, had an exchange with him. I introduced myself and told him i was from alabama. He asked me if i knew jeff sessions. I told him i had known him for 25 years and he made it clear he loves alabama. That was my first meeting with him. I appreciate the fact that in that environment, he took the time to talk to me just for a minute. Everybody is trying to hustle him out of the room. The first time i really had a chance to engage with him on an issue was on the Health Care Bill after i voted no on the Budget Committee. I got a call saying what do you want . And i talked about the things that i felt like needed to be changed in the bill. I went over to the white house along with a dozen other members and sat down with him, the whole idea of how it would benefit the states to get the funding is a per capita cap or block grant, about the waste and fraud and abuse of the system that takes place. The that goes down a rat hole. Not count thet is managed care side of medicaid. Talked about the work requirements. Had another meeting about the risksharing plan. The thing that i found is the guy is extremely intelligent. I was not surprised by that. I think he finished first in his class at wharton. He has an incredible ability to take a complex issue and kit and communicate it. I think that is one of the reasons his message has resonated with so many people. He has the ability to communicate. [indiscernible] rep. Palmer there are some people you cant communicate with. Im answering her question. Show some class. Show some class. This is alabama. We dont act like people in other parts of the country. He understands the art of the deal. He wrote the book on it. I went in and laid out the position and made the deal. Thank you for your question. Ok. Front back. The gentleman in the camo. Thank you for being here. It is generous of your time. Yesterday, one of the news shows i heard mr. J fits representative tickets representative deutch fits talking about mr. Trumps tax returns and indicating he favors the release of tax returns from all of our president and is designing legislation to do this. So he had indicated the legislation is in the process of working on it. Will you support him in this effort and require that all of our president s release the tax returns so we can know about potential conflicts of interest . [applause] not only the american people, but certainly also congress. Thank you. Rep. Palmer i dont take a position on any legislation until i see it. I dont care what it is. I will read the bill and take a position. Gentleman in the mine workers shirt in the back. I dont have a question, but i have a comment. Mine workers field record district 20. I want to thank you from myself and 23,000 retirees for your support in the past for the miner protection act. In your future help with that act. And a lot of our retirees have come to d. C. And talked to you. We appreciate everything you have done for us and your continued support. Thank you. Rep. Palmer we get a video out of our District Office where we want around interviewed some of the mining families that had lost their jobs. You want to talk about Health Insurance, one of them was a minor whose wife within a few months of losing his job was diagnosed with cancer. You could see the terror in her eyes. Another was a couple that had two daughters in college and they told her daughters are going to have to drop out of school and come home to help make ends meet. Here is a cat dad in his 50s with tears streaming down his cheeks during the entire interview thinking that he has no future. He is in his 50s. We turned that into a three minute video and a hearing with the administrator, Gina Mccarthy administrator of the epa. ,gave her a chance to hear from people just like you, to hear the voices and see the faces of people who were impacted at an agency that was clearly overreaching and the devastation that it brings not only to families but whole communities. As long as im been congress, im going to represent people like that. [applause] this lady on the front. Ladies first, ill get you next time. Thank you for coming tonight. I have been getting a letter from you and a couple other senators about a call for an increase in our social security. How long will it take yall to get that done . I have been getting those letters for at least six months. Rep. Palmer and the answer is i dont know. We are working on the budget for 2018. As you know, our focus has been on the Health Care Bill. I honestly dont know. But i will check into it and my chief of staff, William Smith william, hold of your hand. Hes done it from washington. We will follow up on that. Come back over here. This lady. I want to thank you so much for your leadership and your concern for families. I know families are very important to you. We are seeing a pushback on parental rights and family right and Constitutional Rights all over the country. What can we expect from your office, from your leadership and from congress to help ensure that parental rights and Constitutional Rights are protected . Rep. Palmer i have already engaged on that issue once. Im not going to call any names because if i did everyone recognizes individual. His daughter is an accomplished attorney and his soninlaw is an attorney, and they had a child taken from them, even though she was still nursing that child because of an injury that appears to have been inflicted at the daycare. They never investigated the daycare. They had a hearing and the judge determined that there was no cause to take the child. Yet one person in the department of Human Resources decided that there was a problem and took the child. This individuals parents would alternate week by week driving, and they live out of town, about a threehour drive. You might guess what city it is, but to take care of that child. The parents had to move out. They finally determined there was zero cause for that. In my opinion that is a denial of their rights under article article iv of constitution. We have to do a better job. We want to protect children. We have to protect the rights of parents and we cant make some assumptions that take kids out of their home or drive pants out of the kids home. This is something that this individual called me and asked for my help, and i had to call a couple other members of congress to get help. We finally got that family reunited. All the way in the back. Thank you so much for being here. My name is megan. Im from your district. Just wanted to say a little thing about my daughter olivia. At 20 weeks in utero she was diagnosed with a congenital birth defect. We pressed on and she spent 2. 5 months in the nick you, nicu. More doctor visits than we care to admit. She is a thriving, joyful, happy eightyearold girl and for that we are thankful but rarely has a preexisting condition.