Letter: Unaffordable health care for many

Congressman Dan Newhouse missed the May 4 House vote on the Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA) as he cared for his wife, Carol, during her battle with cancer. My condolences to the Newhouse family.

Cancer is a disease that affects roughly 1,500,000 new Americans each year. Those 1,500,000 Americans and millions more with other qualifying diseases then possess what are known as “pre-existing conditions” — which before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), AKA Obamacare, made health insurance unaffordable for many. A large number of those with pre-existing conditions now get their insurance through the ACA. Under the replacement, AHCA, many of their insurance premiums will once again be unaffordable.

While Congressman Newhouse did not vote, he did release a statement stating that he supported the bill. He went on to say, “I strongly believe that every American deserves access to affordable health care, and the status quo under the ACA is not working.” That’s the issue, the AHCA promises only “access” to affordable care, but to those with pre-existing conditions, access means nothing if it is not in fact affordable.

The ACA is by no means perfect, but it already provides affordable health care to millions of Americans. The AHCA is a step backwards.

This story was originally published May 18, 2017 at 11:09 AM with the headline "Letter: Unaffordable health care for many."