Worried About Losing Your Health Insurance? Here’s How Voting Can Help.

I have a pre-existing condition. You probably have one or know someone who has one, too. Yet, my very common and highly treatable condition could force me to lose my health insurance if Trump has his way by finally getting rid of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

A sign from a 2017 rally to protect the Affordable Care Act in Washington, D.C. Image sourced from Flickr.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2014. The condition requires that I get my blood checked a couple of times a year. I take a daily prescription in order to keep it regulated. Hypothyroidism isn’t life threatening, but it’s something that needs to be monitored. Cuz my ‘roid (as I fondly call it) is an important gland that secretes hormones my body needs to function properly.   

Before the ACA, insurance companies called many conditions  “pre-existing” like diabetes, obesity, or pregnancy and then prevented people with them from getting health coverage. Yes, even PREGNANCY––the situation where a woman finds herself creating a life in her body for 9 months––was considered a pre-existing condition. And women were denied health coverage because of it. 

Hypothyroidism is also a pre-existing condition. If I lost my health insurance, I wouldn’t be able to afford to see a doctor when I needed to, pay for my prescription, or get the regular lab work needed to monitor my thyroid. I would be screwed, essentially, and my fundamental right to affordable healthcare would be snatched away.  

Trump’s Sabotage of the Affordable Care Act Puts Our Health At Risk

Trump and Republicans have sought to destroy the ACA ever since he was elected, but haven’t succeeded yet.  With the battle over the ACA back in federal court, people with pre-existing conditions are in serious danger of losing their protections. The Trump administration has worked to sabotage Americans’ healthcare by rolling back provisions of the ACA through destabilizing private insurance markets, ending the individual mandate, and cutting financial assistance for ACA coverage. This court decision could be the final blow to the ACA.

Protect Pre-Existing Conditions

One of the crowning achievements of the ACA was protecting people with pre-existing conditions. Before the ACA’s passage in 2010, insurance companies could deny people health coverage if they had a pre-existing coverage, or charge people higher premiums or cover everything but the pre-existing condition. That sounds evil, amiright?! 

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But there’s something we can do about it in Virginia––we can make it state law to require health insurance companies to protect people with pre-existing conditions. How are we gonna make that happen? We need to elect a progressive majority to the General Assembly this November 5.

A Quarter of Virginians Could Lose Health Coverage If The ACA Is Dismantled

More than 25% of Virginians live with pre-existing conditions. You are probably one of them or you know someone with a pre-existing condition. Do you want to live in a state where you know that insurance companies are forbidden by law to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions? Then make sure you, everyone in your family, your entire block, and everyone at your workplace is registered to vote. 

Registering to vote is super easy––you can do it online here. Then once you and everyone you know is registered to vote, find out what district you live in, and research the candidates running in your district. Now, remember to choose the candidate who is running on a platform that promises to protect the ACA. Got that? Good. Also, stay tuned for our progressive voter guide coming your way in September that will give you all the info you need on the Nov. 5 elections! 

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