Fear And Uncertainty Over Health Care
‘Nobody should have to worry about losing life-saving insurance’
After listening to Denver area residents recount personal stories about dealing with health insurance, Rep. Diana DeGette urged constituents late last month to defend the Affordable Care Act and contact other members of Congress.
Some spoke with deep emotion, others with anger and fear over the uncertainty of their future access to health care.
“It is powerful to hear from people who are directly affected by health insurance problems,” DeGette said. “But the practical problem is that all components (of the ACA) have to operate together and we have to have everyone in the system to make it work.”
DeGette is a Democrat, representing Colorado’s 1st District, which includes Park Hill and Denver. In January, she hosted a rally for health care at Laborers Hall, which included other elected and union leaders. She later sponsored a “listening session” at National Jewish Health, part of a response to vows by President Trump and Republican members of Congress to dismantle the health insurance program enacted under the administration of Barack Obama.
“So far, there have been GOP calls for repeal of ACA, but there is nothing to replace it,” said DeGette, speaking to a crowd of about 200 at the Molly Blank conference center. “In the realm of ‘alternative facts’, we have to speak truth to power and ask what happens if people lose health insurance.
“The ACA is not perfect, but the reality is that we have 22 million more Americans with affordable insurance than we did before,” DeGette continued.
If the ACA is repealed, an estimated 588,000 people in Colorado would lose health coverage.
Karen, a self-employed worker in information technology, told a moving tale. Saying she always paid for her own insurance, she noted that her premium had dropped by one-third under ACA. Karen, who did not provide her last name, cried when she said she could not face the loss of insurance.
Another woman in attendance, Kelly Stallman, introduced Shannon, a young woman who lives with developmental disabilities. Stallman told how Shannon literally has panic attacks over the threat of losing insurance.
Sarah, who suffers Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from childhood sex abuse, said ACA has provided treatment and brought needed awareness to mental health care. “Nobody should have to worry about losing life-saving insurance.”
Several people told of being able to get insurance for their previous illnesses, which health insurance are now required to do under the ACA. DeGette asked how many in the audience had pre-existing conditions, and about half raised their hands. The congresswoman said that is about the same as the general population of the country.
At one point, DeGette snapped a picture of the audience, saying she would distribute it to her colleagues. “We can fix ACA if members of Congress work together,” she said.
Jesse told how she suffers PTSD as a victim of sex trafficking. At age 18, she was homeless and unable to work. Getting insurance through the ACA has enabled her to work full time and she is completing a master’s degree, she said. “I have a responsibility to speak out because treatment allows me to contribute to society.”
Howard Paul declared, “I’m dead” without ACA insurance, because of his prostate cancer. Paul, a search-and-rescue worker, is in the third year of coverage through the state insurance exchange.
Peter Fryer’s wife has Type 1 diabetes. He explained how the couple went deeply into debt without insurance. He then showed bills of over $20,000 related to his son’s premature birth, noting most of the cost would be covered by the insurance he has under the Affordable Care Act.
Melanie Rogers, a registered nurse, said the ACA has made a positive difference in the lives of many patients. “I have a duty, an obligation, and an honor to call out the threat (of repeal),” she said. “We will not go back.”
Nancy Wood urged people to contact other members of Congress, beyond DeGette. She said she is fortunate to be on the insurance exchange without a pre-existing condition. But Monica Bresnahan said she would be unable to get insurance without ACA because of her asthma.
DeGette herself has re-energized her staunch advocacy of the Affordable Care Act and a focus on health care since the November presidential election.
The congresswoman also knows the issue personally. Her daughter, Francesca, has Type I diabetes. Now a young adult, Francesca would otherwise face grave difficulty getting insurance.
“It’s not an abstract concept; it’s an everyday issue for people like me,” DeGette said.
After 18 months of working with Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), DeGette achieved overwhelming passage of the 21st Century Cures Act last summer. The bill became law in December. Congressional scholar Norm Ornstein called passage “a remarkable spectacle of bipartisan cooperation.”
DeGette’s legislation provides a number of economic incentives for speedier research, testing, and marketing of many new life-saving drugs and medical procedures.
“Protecting and enhancing ACA is an issue for people throughout the country, not just in the Democratic congressional districts. Many of the alternatives simply won’t work,” DeGette said.
She urged people to continue to reach out to her, and to other elected representatives – including Colorado’s U.S. senators, Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet. “A personal letter, e-mail, or phone call is best.”
DeGette noted that her office staff tries to answer each phone call personally, and that the office has been getting three times as many calls as usual in recent weeks (see related graphics on page 7).
Dave Felice is a member of National Writers Union, Local 1981, and recipient of awards in 2015 and 2016 from the Society of Professional Journalists for news column writing. He is a former at-large board member of GPHC and can be contacted at gelato321@aol.com.