OUR HEALTH CARE IS NOW AT RISK

N.Y. GOPers must not repeal Obamacare

More than a decade after the Affordable Care Act’s passage, President Barack Obama’s signature achievement is more popular than ever. So is 2024 the year that Republicans finally give up their crusade to repeal the ACA? If former President Donald Trump’s recent comments on the matter are any indicator, they’re not through with it yet.

This open enrollment period, a record-breaking 21.3 million Americans signed up for health care through the Affordable Care Act, nearly double the number of people enrolled when President Biden took office. As the former Health and Human Services regional director for New York and New Jersey, I’m proud to have supported the agency through historic enrollment rates and educated folks on their health care options.

Today, more people are covered by the ACA than ever before, and the nation’s uninsured rate is historically low at 8%. In New York State alone, 3.8 million residents are insured through ACA marketplace coverage.

The numbers speak for themselves: Americans want affordable, high quality health care. Four out of five people who sign up for health insurance through the ACA can find health care coverage for $10 a month or less. Millions of Americans on Obamacare are saving an average of $800 a year, giving working class families more breathing room to pay for other necessities like food, gas and rent.

And yet, Trump is doubling down on his pledge to terminate the ACA if he is elected president again. The former president claims that he wants to replace Obamacare with a better alternative, but after many years of threats to repeal it, Trump has yet to produce a viable plan. Meanwhile, New York’s Republican delegation is slowly but surely endorsing him one by one for the GOP presidential nomination. It’s safe to assume they’re in lockstep with his reckless calls to roll back one of the most transformative and life-saving statutes in American history.

The consequences of ACA repeal would be disastrous: in addition to millions of people losing coverage, more than 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions would lose critical protections, 49 million seniors would have to pay higher costs for prescription drugs, and insurance companies would not be required to cover preventative care, such as vaccinations, contraception, and cancer screenings.

Adult children would no longer be able to stay on their parents’ insurance and insurance companies could impose annual and lifetime limits on coverage.

Trump’s call to end the ACA has been met with deafening silence by most of New York’s Republican members of Congress. The stakes are incredibly high — given that the state of New York could very well decide which party controls Congress in 2024, it’s important for voters to know what New York’s GOP representatives, including Mike Lawler, Nick LaLota, Brandon Williams, and Anthony D’Esposito would do if faced with gutting the Affordable Care Act.

Concerningly, New York Republicans have long supported ACA repeal, voting repeatedly to gut ACA protections, cut back access to Medicaid, and raise prescription drug costs for seniors.

When I look back on my tenure as the HHS regional director, I’m proud of the cost-saving, common sense health care reforms we achieved for Americans. As Republicans in Washington fight to block progress and weaken health care protections for Americans, Democrats expanded on the success of the ACA with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which makes coverage more affordable for people and lowers drug costs for seniors, including a $35 a month cap on insulin and no-cost vaccines.

I am deeply concerned about the New York GOP’s enabling of Trump’s extreme proposals, especially as New York battles an affordability crisis. As the cost of living skyrockets across our state, ACA coverage gives people peace of mind knowing they won’t go bankrupt over an injury or illness. It also means people can actually go to the doctor if they do get sick, improving health outcomes.

Thanks to the ACA, no one has to worry that their insurance company will discriminate against them over a pre-existing condition or charge them more basic care.

The ACA is under threat, and we must hold our lawmakers accountable. If the extreme Republicans in Congress get their way, millions of families would face skyrocketing health care costs or lose their health care altogether. We must push them to protect access to health care, not rip it away from New Yorkers who need it most.