Thousands rally to resist Republican health law repeal drive
WARREN, Michigan (AP): THOUSANDS OF people showed up in freezing temperatures yesterday in Michigan to hear Senator Bernie Sanders denounce Republican efforts to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law, one of dozens of rallies Democrats staged across the country to highlight opposition.
Labor unions were a strong presence at the demonstration in a parking lot at Macomb Community College in the Detroit suburb of Warren, where some people carried signs saying ‘Save our Health Care’.
Lisa Bible, 55, of Bancroft, Michigan, said she has an autoimmune disease and high cholesterol. She said the existing law has been an answer to her and her husband’s prayers, but she worries that if it’s repealed, her family may get stuck with her medical bills.
OBAMACARE NEEDED
“I’m going to get really sick and my life will be at risk,” said Bible, an online antique dealer.
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to overturn and replace the Affordable Care Act and majority Republicans in Congress this week began the process of repealing it, using a budget manoeuvre that requires a bare majority in the Senate.
“This is the wealthiest country in the history of the world. It is time we got our national priorities right,” Sanders told the Michigan rally. The law has delivered health coverage to about 20 million people but is saddled with problems such as rapidly rising premiums and large copayments.