Missouri Senator Roy Blunt visited with hospital administrators and health care professionals in St. Joseph Thursday to talk about issues around healthcare.

“Challenges they’re having with the implementation of the healthcare bill, the efforts the government’s going to to reduce Medicare payments so they can help fund Obamacare,” Blunt said. “I always thought that was a huge part of the problem with Obamacare. Okay you’re going to help fund this by reducing Medicare by $500-billion dollars over the first 10 years of Obamacare?”

It was just one of many listening sessions Blunt is holding this week around the state.

Recently Blunt introduced the Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act, which would provide liability protection to emergency physicians who treat patients under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) federal mandate in emergency departments.

Blunt also touted reforms to the current Recovery Audit Contract (RAC) system. Blunt said he supports reforming the current bounty hunter structure into a system that encourages auditors to pursue genuine waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare program.

Blunt introduced the bipartisan Excellence in Mental Health Act, which will significantly strengthen our nation’s mental health services by expanding access to community mental health treatment and improving the quality of care for those individuals and their families living with mental illness. This legislation, which was signed into law in April 2014, puts mental health centers on more equal footing with other health centers by improving quality standards and expanding access.