In a response to my plea to maintain or improve the Affordable Care Act, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, stated that she would only support a full repeal if there was a replacement. She identified several strategies that she would support. What was missing was a commitment to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health care.
If the ACA is repealed, health care consumers will lose the following:
• Coverage for pre-existing conditions and aid to rural hospitals.
• Discrimination protection for women in health care.
• The provision allowing adult children to remain on their parent’s insurance until the age of 26.
• Funding for the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
• Contraceptive coverage and maternity care provision.
• Roughly 20 million low-income Americans (or higher by some studies) will not have access to affordable insurance.
• Medicare co-payments and drug costs will increase significantly for people over age 65.
• As many as 50 million people with pre-existing conditions could be denied insurance in the future.
