Some Verona residents are not happy that our congressman is working to repeal the Affordable Care Act and, on Friday, they took their concerns to Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen‘s Morristown office.
Lynn Halsey and Adam Bell are part of the grassroots group NJ 11th for Change, which has been going to the congressman’s office for what they call “Fridays with Frelinghuysen”. The 33 members who went yesterday spoke with a Frelinghuysen staffer about their concerns over repealing the ACA without an idea for a replacement plan and told personal stories about how the ACA has affected them. They also asked for Frelinghuysen to hold town hall meetings with his constituents. The group posted a photo of their activities on Twitter to the attention of MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and it was picked up on her show.
“I work in a private physician’s office in women’s healthcare,” says Halsey, “and we have seen an increase in pregnant patients that were able to get insurance even though they were pregnant, which, before the ACA was considered a preexisting condition. Many of these patients had never had insurance before and had never had the opportunity to see a private doctor for their care. It’s improved the quality of their lives and their pregnancies immensely. “I would hate to see any woman lose that protection.
Frelinghuysen was not in Morristown to accept the lump of coal that the group brought in a paper bag as a gift. He was in Washington, voting to begin the repeal of the ACA, which is also known as Obamacare. The House vote was 227 to 198 for a measure that instructs committees to draft a repeal bill by January 27. Nine Republicans voted against the measure, but Frelinghuysen, who is now the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, was not among them.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Since its enactment, the percentage of American without health insurance has fallen to 8.9% from 16%, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control. The Congressional Budget Office said last March that 23 million people now had health insurance because of the law. The Kaiser Foundation found that healthcare premiums charged to all Americans have risen at a sharply lower rate since the ACA began: Premiums for employer plans rose by 69% from 2000-2005, but only 27% from 2010 to 2015, and 3% from 2015 to 2016. Since the ACA was passed, House Republicans have tried to alter it 60 times. President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to repeal the law and replace it, but the Congressional Republicans do not yet have a plan to do so.
Verona, which had long been represented in Congress by Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat, was gerrymandered into the heavily Republican 11th district under Frelinghuysen in 2012. The organizers of NJ 11th for Change can be reached through Facebook.
Errata! From the instigator of the paper bag stunt. Not one but 30 bags of coal were presented to Frelinghuysen’s District Director Aura Kenny Dunn.
The ACA is an important part in providing the Hallmark of Obstetrical Care for pregnant women. As a RN who has worked as an OB nurse for over 50 years, I support the ACA. It not only provides for the mother, but the care provided for the mother directly affects the outcome of her pregnancy. Healthy PREGNANCY = Healthy BABY.
To health care-supporting voters in Mr. Frelinghuysen’s district — if you can’t make real-time meetings or visits to his office, here’s how you can contact him:
https://frelinghuysen.house.gov/contact-us/
Make a point to both write and call, and follow up on all correspondence (multiple times). He needs to understand that we expect him to do what’s best for his constituents, and have a replacement plan ready if he’s going to vote lockstep with his party to repeal. And that irresponsible votes to repeal without a replacement will have consequences for his career as a NJ Congressman.
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2016/04/year-six-of-the-affordable-care-act-obamacares-mounting-problems
Before you take a stance on the benefits/detriments of the ACA, it is worthwhile to read the extensive position paper published by the Heritage Foundation linked to above.
For readers who are unfamiliar with the Heritage Foundation, it is a conservative think-tank that has helped to shape the transition team of President-elect Donald Trump.
Any discussion about Obamacare should look at the big picture not simply isolated elements such a mentioned here. Of course, there are good points to the law, but there are consequences to them as well. Health insurance premiums are made up primarily of medical care. Of $100 in premium $85 or more are for claims. The balance is for reserves for future claims, claim processing, network maintenance, etc. A small portion (7 to 8%) is profit; about the same as a regulated utility.
All the “free” stuff in Obamacare, the elimination of pre-existing conditions, open enrollment each year without limitations, etc. are driving up premiums because more money is being spent on health care. And keep in mind, insurance only works if the insured group is made up of people who are heavy users, modest users and low to non users. So, if you are paying a lot for your health insurance and not using it be thankful, but on the other hand you are subsidizing the high users and the people who waited to enroll with a pre-existing and people who receive free birth control, screenings and adult children who are not even dependent on their parents.