The industry group, American Trucking Associations, says the Affordable Care Act has saddled trucking companies with extra costs and burdens
By JENNIFER SMITH
President Donald Trump met with trucking executives and drivers at the White House, as he sought to rally support for the House Republican effort to replace the Affordable Care Act, which he said had “inflicted great pain on American truckers.”
Mr. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence greeted members of the American Trucking Associations, an industry group that supports replacing the law, in a sun-splashed gathering alongside two colorful big rigs parked outside the White House.
The president joined the truckers shortly after meeting with members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus over the contentious effort to write a new health care law. At one point he hopped up into the cab of one of the 18-wheelers, grabbed the wheel and hit the horn a few times before heading inside.
The ATA says the Affordable Care Act has saddled trucking companies, especially smaller firms, with extra costs, liabilities and administrative burdens. Replacing the law would lower insurance premiums and reduce those burdens, ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said in a statement after the meeting.
Truck driving is a dangerous profession. In 2015, 745 drivers of heavy trucks were killed on the job, the most of any single occupation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Drivers also contend with many health problems that result from spending long hours behind the wheel.
David Congdon, chief executive of Old Dominion Freight Line Inc., who also attended the meeting, said the company’s health-care expenses had increased sharply since the law was passed in 2010. He attributed the rise in part to rules requiring that employers cover dependents up to age 26, as well as a tax that helps fund research into patient outcomes.
“We have 19,500 employees and 37,500 lives on our plan,” Mr. Congdon said after the meeting. “We’d like to see the ability to put some kind of a limit on the maximum amount of insurance we provide.”
Rhonda Rowe, the owner of Rowe Trucking LLC, a small family-owned trucking company in Detroit, said she supports the Affordable Care Act and doesn’t want to see it repealed, though it could use some changes.
Ms. Rowe said she purchased insurance for herself through the ACA for a couple of years, until it became too expensive, but that she recommended it to her four employees. “I did like having the option. Before Obamacare I had no insurance,” said Ms. Rowe.
Norita Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which represents smaller truckers, said health-care costs are just one of many expenses the group’s members face.
“Whatever replaces ACA, it’s difficult to see how successful it will be at cost containment,” Ms. Taylor said in an email. “We want to be cautiously optimistic, but 30% of truckers do not have health insurance because of high costs. Those most in need of it struggle with the cost, while the younger, healthier ones think they are bulletproof and won’t need it.”
Write to Jennifer Smith at jennifer.smith@wsj.com
source: wsj.com
