The Affordable Care Act is not a perfect law, but it makes a real difference in the lives of tens of thousands of Maine people. I am ready to sit down with anybody who wants to talk about addressing problems with the ACA and improving it, but ripping coverage away from people who desperately need it is not a responsible solution. So earlier this week, as the Senate voted on a measure that sets the stage for repeal of the ACA without a plan to replace it, I went down to the Senate floor to share stories that Maine people have sent to my office explaining why the health care law has improved their lives — and why it would be a mistake to turn our back on those successes.
We have over 75,000 people in Maine who are enrolled in health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, and with all the debate surrounding the future of the law, it was important to make sure that Maine voices are heard. Voices like a young woman from Smithfield, Whitney, who was able to stay on her parents’ health care after graduating from college in 2013 — and who was eventually able to find health affordable insurance thanks to the ACA tax credit. Working in a seasonal, outdoor profession with its own dangers and limited access to health care coverage, Whitney felt “invisible” before the ACA, like she and her colleagues “fell through the cracks” of the system. But now, she can go to the doctor and get the care she needs.
And then there’s the story of Ryan from Hampden — and his family — who are working to grow their small business despite uncertainty about their health care. Together, Ryan and his wife have pursued their dream and started an ice cream business — and were able to make that leap in part because of the subsidies provided under the Affordable Care Act. This is a little-discussed benefit of the ACA that allows people to innovate, take risks, follow their dreams, and contribute to our economy. However, the uncertainty about the ACA’s future has also caused uncertainty for Ryan, his family, and his business. If the subsidies disappear, he’s not sure how to afford health care for his family, including his two small children.
The closing of the message that he sent me was particularly powerful, where he urged me to put politics aside and help people in his situation access affordable health care. “Please don’t let my family down,” he said, and those are words that all of us in Congress should take to heart right now.
I also received a message from Cindy in Caribou, a business owner with four employees covered under the Affordable Care Act. She is concerned that, if the ACA is repealed without a replacement, her employees aren’t going to be able to afford health care coverage moving forward.
Perhaps the most heart-wrenching message I received came from a man named Spencer in Ellsworth. He told the tragic story of his mother’s death after a long battle with health issues, many of which were considered “pre-existing conditions” before the Affordable Care Act. He wrote, “I don’t care about the ACA because of some theory or ideology. I watched my mom die, sooner than she needed to, because she couldn’t afford to get preventative care early enough. I watched my mom die because market solutions refused to solve her problems. An open insurance market actively refused to compete to cover my mom. The insurance market before the ACA is one of a number of factors that led to my mom’s death.”
The debate about the future of the Affordable Care Act shouldn’t be driven by a campaign promise. This isn’t a bumper sticker or a rally anymore; these are real people’s lives we’re talking about. So we need to slow down. If people want to come up with a different solution or modify the current system, that’s fine. I don’t care who gets credit for fixing it. We can call it whatever we want, but the fundamental principle here is that having health insurance is a life or death matter, and we need to protect it for the people in Maine and across the country who currently rely on the ACA for their coverage.
As Donald from Poland said to me about the health care law, “Better yet, improve it, don’t destroy it.” I couldn’t have said it better myself, Donald.
