In Spite of Ourselves

The Affordable Care Act was not my preference for health insurance in the US. I support universal health insurance as delivered by every other first-world country on the planet. When I realized that universal health was not going to happen in 2009, I supported a robust public option as part of the exchanges on the ACA. When that was taken off the table, I supported lowering the qualifying age for Medicare to 55. Thanks to Joe Lieberman, that crashed too.

When all was said and done, and as a realist, I became a full supporter of the ACA. I worked to implement it in NH and became a Certified Application Counselor, providing application assistance to those who needed it. Through my employer, we funded and staffed enrollment fairs when NH Republicans effectively blocked early fed dollars designed to implement the health plan.

I did this understanding it was not what I wanted. It was the right thing to do and I'm so very proud of all the work and take great joy in the lives we helped. We brought access to health care to 24 million Americans who had not had it.

These were not just anonymous lives, either. I have a very close family member who has greatly benefited from the ACA. He now has access to quality medical care and has the treatment he needs for several issues. The ACA has saved lives - I know this from first-hand experience.

Through a series of unfortunate electoral events, we are now facing a Republican majority in the US Congress and a Republican president dedicated to repealing the ACA. The primary reason for the repeal is to create a bundle of money to give tax breaks to the 1%.

I don't know what's going to happen. Honestly. I know that my family member will be at risk without a public policy supporting affordable health care. He's just one of 24 million.

The survival of democracy is not preordained.