Care beyond reach

gained coverage. But a January Gallup poll shows a troubling trend: The rate of uninsured Americans has risen steadily since 2016 — to a four-year high. Hardest hit of the more than 27 million non-elderly uninsured: women, young adults and the low-income. In stark terms, an additional 7 million Americans lost health care under Trump, according to Gallup.

Why are millions losing health insurance? Experts cite the Republican tax law that struck down the ACA’s individual mandate; the administration’s deep cuts to the act’s marketing and enrollment budgets; and Trump’s ban on cost-sharing payments for insurers, compelling many to leave the ACA marketplace and raise premiums.

Obamacare expanded Medicaid — a salve for the poor — by increasing funds and simplifying enrollment. But many red states blocked those extra Medicaid dollars, denying benefits to tens of thousands of their own constituents. Fortunately, last year’s midterms changed that calculus: Voters passed measures in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah, among other states, to fund Medicaid expansion. Yet many Republican lawmakers are trying to delay its implementation, cripple enrollment, and reduce benefits by adding work requirements.

It’s unfathomable that untold numbers of Americans lack adequate health care coverage. For me, the face of the crisis is Mrs. Brown: a woman trapped by circumstance, financial hardship, and the vicissitudes of life. Multiply her story by tens of millions — and therein lies the enormity of the task before us.

It’s our country’s tragedy. And it’s our calling to make right.

Susan Gluss is a Bay Area freelance writer.

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$23 per hour $45 per hour $61 per hour Those displaced by war or violence People sickened by Ebola Sex-trafficked juveniles

How is Israel honoring President Trump?

Postage stamp

Free land for Trump hotel Housing complex dubbed Trump Heights Lousy Wi-Fi

Nose rings fouling TSA X-ray machines Ride-booking pickup system a mess

What happened with honeybees last winter?

More than one-third of nation’s colonies died

California’s supply boomed thanks to mild weather

Plunging honey prices leading to fewer hives Indonesian island Fracking location in Texas Southern California By Marshall Kilduff. Email: mkilduff@ sfchronicle.com

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