By Camille Taylor
My family is in the midst of a health crisis. My 38 year old niece was going through her daily routine last Monday and in intensive care by Wednesday. We all know that “life happens”, but it smacks you in the face when it’s happening to you. My niece is a wife, mother of two young children, a sister, cousin, friend, etc. She is well loved, and all of us are afraid, because she is not doing well. Fortunately, she and her husband have health insurance. I hope her insurance covers the long process both in the hospital and at home.
I’ve been privileged to have health care coverage either by my job or through my spouse. I’m anticipating some coverage changes and started to explore affordable options. So, I’m dismayed by the Republican’s proposed bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). I’ve taken the time to read through some of the act, summaries provided by the Kaiser Foundation, and statements from approximately 50 organizations including the American Medical Association, who are in opposition to the proposed American Healthcare Act.
The bill, in its current form, gives tax breaks to big drug companies and health insurance companies. It shortens the life of Medicare, changes the way Medicaid will be delivered by the states by imposing limits on what can be spent per capita, and hikes the cost for those who can least afford higher premiums. The young will have more of an advantage and the old will get less benefit. It eliminates subsidies that low income people have received to make purchasing health care affordable and will replace it with tax credits based on income. It will encourage health savings accounts speculating that will suffice to give folks access to coverage.
If you listen carefully as Speaker Paul Ryan and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price talk, you will hear the word “access.” They speak about the fact that everyone will have access. Having access but not the funds to purchase a plan does not provide coverage. The counter argument is having an insurance card but not being able to go to the doctor isn’t coverage either. The Republicans had six years to improve a law they felt was flawed. Instead they spent all of their energy trying to repeal it. Now the most vulnerable among us will be hurt.
Camille Taylor, a retired Counselor from Normal Community High School, has been an educator in this community for 34 years. She is active in the community currently serving as a church elder and board member for both the Baby Fold and the YWCA. She has been recognized by the YWCA as a Woman of Distinction for education, a Martin Luther King Jr. award winner for the City of Bloomington, a Distinguished Alumni by the College of Education at Illinois State University, a Human and Civil Rights award winner for the Illinois Education Association, and the H.Councill Trenholm Award recipient from the National Education Association for her work with diversity. She lives in Bloomington with her husband, Arthur, and is a mother and grandmother.
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