President
Trump
The White
House
1600
Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington
DC 20500
3 May 2017
Dear
President Trump,
The amended
Health Care Bill, up for a vote today, eliminates protections for people with
pre-existing conditions. I am writing
you to urge you to vote against this bill in the event that it makes it past
the Senate.
I have a
pre-existing condition, melanoma. I am a
seven year survivor thanks to recently developed innovations in immunotherapy. During my years of receiving treatments, I was
able to continue to teach full time. I
work hard, pay taxes, and pay into my insurance plan. Recently, after several clear scans, I have
been allowed to stop getting infusions every three weeks. Under the Affordable Care Act, my plan
covered me enough for me to get well.
According to
a New York Times story that ran yesterday, under the proposed legislation, many
Americans with pre-existing conditions would be pushed off their insurance and
segregated into high-risk pools where they will have to face soaring costs
worse coverage, and restricted care. The
bill will also sharply cut Medicaid funds for special education students, a
population that desperately needs such funds.
Under the
Affordable Care Act, insurers are required to charge the same price for
coverage, regardless of pre-existing conditions. The amended House bill, according to Paul
Ryan, allows states to waive this rule for people who have lapses in coverage –
if for example they change jobs.
According to a Kaiser Analysis, this could affect upwards of 4.7 million
people.
People with
cancer are already in a desperate situation, as are people with other chronic
health situations. Medicine can often
help them live a relatively normal life.
This bill will take that away and will cause unbelievable hardship for
such people and their families. Help
make the world a better place, Mr. Trump, not a worse one. Vote that bill down.
Bill
Boerman-Cornell
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