Portman the breakdown of federal insurance exchange

Sen. Rob Portman, R, Ohio, spoke with reporters on a conference call Tuesday to discuss a variety of issues from across the state.

Portman told reporters that he had visited a number of sites across the state in the previous week, including the Unity House drug treatment center in Columbus and the Fluor B&W nuclear decommissioning site in Piketon.

Portman said that he discussed Second Chance Grant funds with Unity and “talked with them about what steps the federal government should take moving forward.”

Portman also discussed healthcare for coal miners, noting that although progress has been made to protect those healthcare benefits, the miners need “permanent legislation to protect healthcare.”

“We need to do more on the pension side, too,” he said.

He also talked about the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion site in Piketon, Ohio, which he toured over the weekend. Portman toured the facility, to observe the decommissioning and cleanup efforts being undertaken by Fluor B&W.

“(We) went into the plant to see the clean-up efforts,” Portman said, adding that he was, “looking forward to hosting Secretary (of Energy) Perry at the site.”

He also discussed the needs to continue reforming healthcare, noting that Anthems recent decision to pull out of the state insurance exchange left “18 counties (in Ohio) without an exchange option.”

“If you live in one of those counties,” Portman said, “you have no options.”

Though he didn’t directly address questions about the role of the Trump administration, or the House sponsored American Health Care Act, in prompting the withdrawal from the Obama era exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act, he did say that he “will continue working on that issue.”