I am twice a cancer survivor. With my first diagnosis in 1999 and my second in 2001, I felt lost. I couldn’t see what the future would hold. My fears lessen as time passes and my treatment has been successful, but a new concern has emerged. I now have a pre-existing condition that health insurance companies used to claim made people too risky to insure.
The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, prohibits such discrimination and implemented many other positive patient protections, that often get lost when we talk about its downsides. The ACA isn’t perfect. But cancer patients and survivors cannot afford to return to a time when insurance is unaffordable, coverage is inadequate and their treatment is at risk.
When I hear my representative on the radio, claiming the current Republican plan works for cancer patients, I worry that he is not accounting for how changes in Medicaid or tax credits will impact whether people receive the care they need when they need it.
Putting surcharges on people who let their insurance plans lapse could punish people who have to leave their jobs because of their illness. These are not little, technical changes. They will have a real impact on our community health.
Rep. Eric (sic) Paulsen, you stood beside cancer patients like me in the past. I’m asking you to consider carefully how your voice in your party and your vote will impact us now.
Kriss Bernier, Eden Prairie, Volunteer
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Eden Prairie News, April 6, 2017