Health advocates in Virginia are calling to protect the Affordable Care Act as it faces scrutiny from some national Republicans.
More than 300 people signed a petition to Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., asking her to defend Obamacare. The pressure comes as others in her party, like former President Donald Trump have vowed to replace it.
Laura Packard, executive director of the nonprofit Health Care Voter, said a lot of people take the Affordable Care Act for granted.
“Things like birth control, access, wellness checkups for free, various free preventative exams, like a mammogram or a colonoscopy,” Packard outlined. “All those things didn’t used to be guaranteed or free.”
The Affordable Care Act remains popular among Americans. In Virginia, more than 400,000 people signed up for a plan for this year through the federal marketplace and another 700,000 plus people have coverage through Medicaid expansion.
Kiggans is a nurse practitioner and her campaign said in a statement she has taken concrete steps to protect Social Security and Medicare.
Packard is still hoping for more clarity about the Affordable Care Act specifically. In 2017, she was diagnosed with stage four cancer and was able to get chemotherapy and radiation treatments through her insurance. She is in remission today, she said, because of Obamacare protections for people with preexisting conditions.
“People truly may not remember or may not have ever faced the times when insurance companies could drop you for any reason at all, just because they didn’t want to pay for your care,” Packard pointed out.
The Affordable Care Act also allows adults under the age of 26 to stay on their parent’s insurance.
