State Rep. Michael Echols said health care reform, federal flood infrastructure investment, and changes to carbon capture incentives would be among his top priorities if elected to Congress during a recent appearance on the Livingston Parish News podcast.
Echols, a Republican who represents House District 14 and chairs the Louisiana House Republican Delegation, highlighted his professional background in health care, financial services, and real estate development as preparation for federal office.
One of his signature legislative efforts, he said, was last session’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) transparency law aimed at protecting independent pharmacies.
“A lot of our small-town pharmacists … were really getting taken to the cleaners,” Echols said, describing PBMs as “large bureaucratic” entities that extract money at multiple levels of the health care system. He said the legislation gave the insurance commissioner additional authority to ensure pharmacies are paid fairly and to help preserve access to medications in rural areas.
Echols said he would pursue similar reforms at the federal level, arguing that pharmaceutical costs have grown disproportionately within overall health care spending. “This isn’t innovation,” he said. “This is literally just additional cost that’s been built up in these bureaucratic processes.”
On broader health care policy, Echols criticized the Affordable Care Act and called for greater price transparency and consumer control. “I think as consumers, we need to be empowered,” he said, adding that he believes federal reforms should reduce the influence of large insurers and intermediaries.
Turning to Livingston Parish issues, Echols expressed support for continued federal investment in flood mitigation and drainage infrastructure, referencing work tied to the Comite River Diversion project. He said managing growth responsibly will require coordination among local, state, and federal officials.
“You have to have residual drainage to put the water and get it moving down a river, stream to the ocean at some point,” Echols said, emphasizing that infrastructure planning must account for rapid development.
Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) drew extended discussion. Echols said he does not believe current federal tax credits for carbon capture are sustainable long-term and predicted Congress will eventually revisit them. He also addressed property rights concerns related to CO₂ pipelines.
“I don’t think for this type of issue that somebody should be able to just come take your property,” Echols said of eminent domain. “If you don’t want these types of projects on your personal or private property, then you shouldn’t have to have them on your personal private property.”
However, he characterized carbon capture policy as complex and said legislation must account for differing economic goals among parishes.
At the end of the interview, Echols also criticized what he described as online attacks targeting conservative lawmakers over their positions on carbon capture.
“As chairman of the Republican delegation, I’ve watched members that are some of the most extraordinarily conservative members … get lambasted by these groups opposing these efforts,” he said. Echols claimed some advocacy campaigns are funded by outside groups and argued the issue requires careful, long-term policymaking rather than political pressure.
“It takes years to put together great policy,” he said. “This is a complex issue, and it’s not one parish by one parish issue. It’s a statewide issue.”
Echols is running to succeed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who is vacating the seat to run for U.S. Senate.
