Photo by Warren Scott Speaking with U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., during her visit Wednesday to the Daily Perk coffee shop in Follansbee, from left, are state Sen. Ryan Ferns, R-Ohio; state Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke; and Follansbee Mayor David Velegol Jr.

FOLLANSBEE — Health care reform and federal funding for local projects were among various issues discussed by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito as she met with local officials, business leaders and residents Wednesday in Follansbee.

Capito, R-W.Va., made stops at the Daily Perk, a local coffee shop, and the Follansbee City Building.

City Manager John DeStefano told Capito rising health care costs are a major concern, with the annual deductible for city employees increasing from $500 per person to $3,000 per person and a potential for it to increase again to as much as $7,500.

Capito said she voted 57 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and will continue to work to fix problems attributed to it.

“Those in (health care) exchanges are paying very high deductibles if they’re even buying insurance,” she said, adding Congress must find a way to address that issue without harming those who have benefited from the act.

Capito said in response, she co-sponsored the Patient Freedom Act bill, which would allow states to keep the Affordable Care Act or offer their own alternative.

If approved, the act would encourage greater use of health savings accounts and eliminate the requirement of having health insurance or paying a tax penalty. It would keep some features of the Affordable Care Act, including prohibiting exclusion from coverage because of pre-existing conditions and allowing coverage of dependents up to 26 years old.

Capito said a major health care expense has come from the increase in opioid addiction in West Virginia, Ohio and elsewhere. She noted under the previous administration, she supported legislation aimed at making drug abuse treatment more accessible and supporting research into Alzheimer’s disease and other brain diseases.

Mayor David Velegol Jr. asked about funding for infrastructure, particularly aging water treatment systems.

Capito said President Donald Trump has expressed great interest in infrastructure, including a desire to improve the nation’s airports. But she said the president has suggested public partnerships with private entities may be a major catalyst for such projects, and she’s not sure such arrangements will be available to smaller communities.

Still, she encouraged local officials to bring shovel-ready projects to the attention of the governor’s office, the usual conduit for such funding in the past, and to her and her colleagues in the West Virginia delegation to Congress.

Capito also acknowledged the Trump administration has proposed cuts to several funding sources that are vital to the Mountain State.

Among them are the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program, which has funded street paving and other services in local cities; the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s brownfield program, which has supported revitalization of the former Wheeling Corrugating plant; and the Appalachian Regional Commission, a major source of funding for the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission.

A member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Capito said she and others “are going to fight back.”

“I’m all for shrinking government, but they’re going to have to find other places to cut,” she said.

First Ward Councilman Vito “Skip” Cutrone asked Capito if she’s concerned about the situation with North Korea escalating.

Capito said the U.S. should involve other Asian nations before it acts against the North Korean government led by Kim Jong-un.

“We’ve got to work with folks in the neighborhood — South Korea, China, Japan,” she said.

But she said North Korea’s show of military force in recent months is a cause for concern.

“We’ve got to figure a way to stop this guy,” Capito said of Kim Jong-un.