Biden would strengthen, not abolish, the ACA
As an emergency doctor in the Lehigh Valley, I meet people every day who have often just been faced with the worst moment of their life. In the emergency room, we catch what life breaks and what accidents shatter.
My patients are often uncertain and sometimes afraid of how their future could change depending on the news we will tell them. Frequently, I am able to lessen their concern by listening and partnering with them to decide on diagnostic and treatment options.
Whenneeded, I offer guidance on navigating the complexities of our health care system. Most can continue on in their daily life, heal and be relieved of illness and worry.
However, my experiences are also filled with stories of those who decline a test or do not get their prescription filled — who are now more ill and requiring more care, which is often more expensive than the original therapy.
These patients come into the ER with more deeply rooted concerns that no treatment can alleviate — concerns about whether the treatment or prescription that their health depends on will be financially out of reach.
While someone else’s health care may not seem like an issue for all of us — I assure you, it is. Our country’s spending on health care, currently at 18% of what it produces, is increasing. It is not sustainable.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act — which has provided millions of Americans with
access to quality, affordable health care — fewer Americans are saddled with the concerns that a trip to the hospital would lead to financial ruin.
Yet, despite this, the ACA has been under constant attack by the Republican Party from
the moment the Obama-Biden administration passed it into law. And the attacks have only increased under President Trump. In the time since his effort to repeal the ACA in Congress failed, the Trump administration is working to dismantle the ACA in court, which would take away insurance from nearly 1 million Pennsylvanians and strip protections from the over 5 million Pennsylvanians with pre-existing conditions.
Pennsylvania is reporting the highest total number of COVID19 cases it has seen since onset of the pandemic. Attempts to undercut health coverage now is even more shortsighted, given that those who make it through coronavirus infection could develop a preexisting condition in the process.
They, too, could be denied coverage should Trump get his way. That is to say nothing about the serious health implications when a patient is battling the virus.
Whentaken together, Trump’s failure to respond to the COVID19 crisis and constant attempts to undercut the ACA reveal him to be unfit to safeguard the health of families in Pennsylvania.
Wemust demand better of our leaders. We must elect leaders who fundamentally understand the struggles that working families are facing today.
Joe Biden grew up in a working family in Scranton. He knows the uncertainty that comes when a parent loses their job. Having lost a son to brain cancer, he knows that a diagnosis can change your life in an instant. Biden is the only candidate in this election with a record of fighting for the health and well-being of working families in Pennsylvania. He has the ability to do so as president.
Biden has put forth a clear plan to contain the spread of COVID19 and empower communities to reopen safely and free of government interference. As president, Biden will strengthen and build on the ACA, lower premiums, deductibles and drug costs. He understands that when you lose your job, the last thing that you should have to worry about is losing your health care coverage as well.
That’s why he has put forth plans that would ensure that everyone has access to coverage during this pandemic. Joe will also provide paid sick days and paid family medical leave so that Pennsylvanians can care for themselves and their loved ones without worrying about losing their jobs. Less than four in 10 Pennsylvania families have access to even unpaid leave.
On health care, as with most of his other policies, President Trump is forcing working families to shoulder the financial and health burdens.
The ACA was a historic achievement by the ObamaBiden administration, and we deserve a president who will strengthen it, not tear it down.
Make no mistake, protecting health care for ourselves and our neighbors is on the ballot in this election. Vote in favor of our country’s health by casting our ballots for Joe Biden.