“The Affordable Care Act is the only reason my family and I have health care… Several years ago, During one of my pregnancies, I had a medical emergency that put me in the hospital for weeks. Without ACA coverage, that one emergency could have bankrupted us. Private insurance would have been thousands of dollars a month. Far beyond what we could afford. When people talk about cutting ACA subsidies, what they are really saying is that families like mine should choose between paying for care or putting food on the table. For me, it is to choose between time with my children or the ability to seek health care without drowning in debt, The ACA allows moms like me to care for our families while contributing to our communities. It gives families like mine peace of mind and stability.I am asking Republicans to come to the table and stop using families as bargaining chips and restore the ACA subsidies because No parent should have to sacrifice time with their family just to barely afford health care.”-Emily Chaffin, Mesa Resident.
“It’s because of the Affordable Care Act so that I can plan towards the future for my body does not retaliate against me. Without that coverage, I would be uninsured and forced to choose between my health and my rent. For me, Healthcare is more about more than staying alive. It’s about living without fear that a sudden medical emergency that will topple the foundation that I’ve worked really hard to build. That’s why I’m calling on Republicans to stop building our health care hostage. Come to negotiation, and restore the ACA subsidy.”-Vivian Serafin, Phoenix Resident.
“Last year, I slipped while getting out of the bathtub and suffered a head injury...Because of the ACA coverage, my bill was around a thousand dollars. Instead, it could have been like $10,000. That coverage kept me from either going into debt or losing my home, a situation far too many people experience. And on top of losing work,… it is essential for someone my age to receive regular checkups and medication to live a long, healthy life. Without the ACA, people like me, older workers and small business owners would have nowhere to turn. I wonder if those Republicans who cut our health care have ever had to choose between paying a medical bill or paying their mortgage, Because that is a reality for so many of us. My message to the Republicans is stop playing games with our lives. Come to the negotiating table and restore ACA subsidies.“-Cricket Peterson, Phoenix Resident.
Those were three messages from Affordable Care Act (ACA) health care recipients at a virtual event headlined by Arizona Senator Mark Kelly who, like his Democratic Congressional colleagues in Arizona and across the country, have been calling attention to the coming Trump-MAGA Health Care Crisis, created by the passage of their Big Billionaires First Bill earlier this year, when Obamacare Marketplace rates are scheduled to skyrocket in the coming weeks.
Senator Kelly has been an outspoken proponent of solving this crisis, regularly making appearances on Cable News (including Fox)and late night comedy shows.
At the beginning of his presentation, Senator Kelly thanked the ACA recipients who came to the virtual event, hosted by Stephanie Maldonado from LUCHA (Living United for Change in Arizona,) saying:
“The Arizonans who are on this call, who are going to share their stories. It takes courage to speak up about something so personal, And I’m really grateful that you’re here to put a human face on what this fight is all about and the price that so many Arizonans have to currently pay for their health care.”
Senator Kelly then outlined the health care crisis many people on the ACA are about to face, conveying:
“Many families are going to be logging on to healthcare.gov starting on November 1st to sign up for coverage for next year, and they’re going to see premiums that are hundreds, or in some cases, thousands of dollars higher than what they pay today. And for many families, that’s going to be chaos. Families are often already living on a very tight budget and do not have the ability to pay more. The expectation in Arizona alone is that about 109,000 people are projected to lose their health insurance. If these tax credits expire, and for families in rural areas, this is even worse because options are already limited. So those families are likely to be hit the hardest and this means that parents are going to be forced to choose between paying for health care or paying for rent or paying for food. It means families will be in many cases, one emergency or one illness or one diagnosis, one accident away from bankruptcy. And it means people who simply can’t afford these additional costs. They’re gonna drop health insurance all together and we know what happens when people don’t have health insurance. Some people will die. Now, here’s the interesting thing about this. This is entirely preventable. If House Republicans would return from their extended summer vacation And the President would agree to work with us on this, we could sit down and end this shutdown and extend these tax credits pretty easily and pretty quickly. So, that’s what I’m fighting for. Here in Washington, a bipartisan solution that protects affordable health care for families in every corner of our state.”
A question and answer session followed the Senator and ACA recipients presentation.
The Senator responded to two of my questions.
The first was:
“What does it say about Republicans who find time to pass taxes for billionaires, but cannot show up to deal with the shutdown and the coming healthcare crisis of their making.”
The second question was:
“After this crisis is over, is it time to start pursuing Medicare for All legislation?”
To the first question, the Senator responded:
“I think what it says about Republicans is they are prioritizing a big tax cut for the wealthiest over affordable health care for average hard-working Americans. That’s been pretty clear pretty early on, and they needed to try to pay for some of it. Uh, that tax cut was very expensive. It already, I mean, even with what they did. It added four trillion dollars to the debt over ten years. It would have been worse… But to pay for some of it, they cut Medicaid, kicking people off the Medicaid after 2026, and the canceling of these Credits on the Affordable Care Act, so it’s going to be unaffordable. People will lose their health insurance. That’s clear. So, I think it just says where the priorities are priorities are with the wealthiest Americans, not hard working Americans And hard-working Arizonans.”
On the second question, Kelly replied:
“I think we need to constantly be looking to improve our health care system. There are opportunities to do that. Hopefully, we get through this, get the government back open, and we can continue to have those conversations.”
The Senator also responded to questions on other topics like House Speaker Mike Johnson taking his time to swear in Representative-Elect Adelita Grijalva.
His response to that was:
“I live in that district… All those people don’t have representation. I mean, we’d have to ask him. I mean, I don’t think he wants to answer the question. It’s a combination of a couple things I think, (swearing her in) reduces his majority a little bit, but I think it’s more about the Epstein Issue…It’s essentially legislation, will pass the House of Representatives if she’s sworn it. He’s trying to prevent that. He’s trying to keep people from being held accountable for rather horrific things.”
Kelly’s Arizona Senate Colleague, Ruben Gallego, was more blunt on this issue in a social media reply to Juan Ciscomani, telling House Republicans to come back to Washington to help people get Affordable Health Care rather protecting pedophiles.
On another question, the Senator addressed the plight of Air Traffic Controllers, some of whom are not showing up to work in Phoenix and Burbank, offering:
“We need our air traffic control system be to be safe for the flying public. I mean, that’s clear. And, yeah, so, of course, I’m concerned about it. That’s why we want to get this to a quick resolution. We could do that this week…But there are other issues with our air traffic control system unrelated to this. We have a Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, that needs to be focused on those issues, 24 7, because what we have seen lately Is more mishaps and more close calls.”
Similar sentiments were expressed by Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Representative Yassamin Ansari, and Representative Greg Stanton last week.
Kelly closed the event by thanking the recipients for sharing their stories and the journalists who joined to report on the event.
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