In a recent piece, Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, Acting Director of the Office of Minority Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as saying that injustices in health are one of “the most shocking and inhumane” forms of inequality. As she noted, fortunately “health reform is making serious strides in leveling the health care playing field.”
For the last few years, as regional director for HHS, I was excited to be a part of making sure that those who stood to benefit from President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) took the steps needed to do so. In that role, I worked with leaders in St Louis to help communities understand the new benefits made available through ACA by using a specially designed “tool kit” of information.
We worked to explain the small business tax credits, new benefits to young adults, and drug and preventive services to seniors through Medicare. We also improved services at community health centers and assisted the state with guidance in its application ensuring the renewal of ConnectCare services. I worked with senior centers to develop innovations available through the new law to increase support for seniors to lead healthier, more independent lives.
With all that said, is the ACA perfect? Certainly not.
Should we throw it out and start from scratch? Absolutely not.
We have to save what’s good about it and fix the rest.
We shouldn’t go back to the days when our sickest seniors had to pay an additional $600 for their prescription drug coverage when they hit the so-called donut hole of prescription drug coverage. The ACA provided new coverage for these seniors.
We shouldn’t go back to when parents had to worry because their children could be excluded from insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions. The ACA required insurance companies to provide coverage for these kids.
We shouldn’t go back to the days when recent college grads who hadn’t yet found their first job had to fear financial ruin if they got sick because it was no longer possible for them to be covered under their parents’ policy. The ACA now provides a means for parents to help their kids get coverage during their transition to careers. And it’s also worth noting that 1.3 million of those benefiting from this provision are racial and ethnic minorities.
We shouldn’t go back to a time when insurance companies could spend as much as they wanted on administrative costs and as little as they wanted on health care. The ACA forces insurance companies to spend money on health care, not bureaucracy.
But people like Lt. Governor Peter Kinder want to take us backwards. They want to wipe away all those gains. They advocate repealing those protections for seniors, children and young adults.
And instead of talking about ways we can improve the Affordable Care Act, they do the bidding of the insurance companies and file frivolous lawsuits just to score cheap political points – costing the taxpayers millions in legal fees in the process.
As HHS recently pointed out, “Not all Americans have equal access to health care – or similar health care outcomes. Low-income Americans, racial and ethnic minorities, and other underserved populations often have higher rates of disease, fewer treatment options and reduced access to care. They are also less likely to have health insurance than the population as a whole.”
Repealing the Affordable Care Act would do nothing to fix those problems, and in fact, would only magnify them.
I am currently a candidate for Lt. Governor. In that role, I would continue to advocate for ways to make health care more affordable for all Missouri families and businesses. I would fight to help seniors keep quality care and to remain in their homes as long as possible. It is time we stand up for the things that make a difference in people’s lives.
