Dear Editor:
I breathed a big sigh of relief when President Trump's healthcare bill was pulled due to lack of support. I can't imagine any healthcare bill doing away with hospitalization, emergency services, and any other standard care while still claiming to be health insurance. I also find it disgraceful that Trump's bill charged higher premiums based on someone's age regardless of income, as if it were a punishment to get older. Under his proposal, the upper 1/10 of 1 percent would pay the same rate as someone making $20,000 a year if they were in the same age bracket.
While the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) isn't perfect and needs some tweaking, we should not throw it out. Millions of Americans were able to have insurance because of it. I am one of those people.
I moved back to Missouri after living in New York prior to the enactment of the ACA. I had insurance in New York but when I tried to get it in Missouri, I was told based on my history, that I was only eligible for high-risk insurance in Missouri. My premiums in that high-risk pool would have been more per month than I paid for doctor visits all year, so I went without insurance and hoped that I didn't get sick.
When the ACA became law, I jumped at the chance to sign up. Pre-existing conditions were no longer excluded. Then, a couple of years ago, without warning, I needed emergency surgery. There was no problem at all with the insurance. The Affordable Care Act saved my life.
Contrary to what Trump has said various times, there are many people with similar stories like mine. We are not paid protesters, not actors, but real people. No one wants a medical emergency, but when it happens, it is important to have healthcare that actually cares for one's health.