WASHINGTON, D.C. – With increasing desperation, Americans are pleading with Congress not to enact Affordable Care Act repeal. They are publicly sharing their stories online of how they and their families and friends would be affected if the proposed health care bill becomes law. By posting videos, photos, and texts on Indivisible Austin’s Protect Our Care website, Americans in 24 states so far are calling on their Congressional representatives to have compassion for the millions who would suffer under the bill.
“My life is at risk if the provision to cover pre-existing conditions is abandoned…further if the lifetime caps are reinstated,” writes Tina in Texas who is on disability with Stage IV colon cancer.
The recently updated site is the brainchild of Indivisible’s Austin chapter. Each story posted to the site – like Tina’s – is tweeted to that state’s senators, and emailed directly to the senators’ health care staffers.
“We want to collect stories from real, everyday people from across the country whose health insurance is threatened by this bill,” said Lisa Goodgame, Indivisible Austin board president. “We are putting true human faces on the disaster this bill will create.”
So far, the 300+ stories on Protect Our Care are from people of all ages, from all walks of life.
Amy in Nevada writes, “Because of the Medicaid expansion my daughter Bella just has scoliosis surgery. Her spine was twisting at a 70+-degree curve and impacting every aspect of her life. Without the surgery she would have faced a life in pain, and most likely a wheelchair… thanks to Medicaid expansion provided in the ACA we were able to address. Please don't take that option away.”
Alison in Utah tells the story of she and her husband, both self-employed, active and healthy: “We buy our insurance on the open market…prior to the ACA, we were both rated up because of pre-existing conditions…This seemed ridiculous, since the pre-existing conditions that caused the rate increase were injuries from being active, and were both completely resolved. This made our insurance astronomically expensive, and it increased by quite a bit every year. Since the ACA, we have had no problem getting health insurance, and we are not rated up because of pre-existing conditions. But the best part is, we feel comfortable that we have health insurance at a reasonable price...”
“We’re asking for stories from anyone whose family, friends, and lives will be affected by this bill, and we’ll make sure it gets to your senator,” said Goodgame.
