I was born with a pre-existing condition, a form of kidney disease called bilateral ureteral reflux. I’ve had 11 surgeries, nine by the age of five. Ten years ago this summer, I needed a kidney transplant, which was made possible by a donation from an amazing friend.
My insurance coverage came through a combination of Medicaid and Medicare, but I was able to transition to private insurance because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Without it, my two sons and I would not be here.
Despite its shortcomings, both real and imagined, the ACA has been a lifesaver for millions of people like me. But the legally shaky and politically motivated Texas v. Azar lawsuit would invalidate the entire law with no replacement plan in place and Utah’s Attorney General, Sean Reyes, has made us one of the (exclusively) red states supporting that lawsuit.
Let’s get real: Republicans had nine years to replace the ACA, as they promised, but failed to produce a single replacement they could agree on and pass, even when they controlled both houses of Congress. To pretend they’ll suddenly develop something that keeps the benefits but fixes the flaws of ACA while making everyone happy and passes a divided Congress is an absurd fantasy.
If the ACA is repealed, millions of Americans like me will instantly lose coverage, protections for pre-existing conditions, prohibitions against lifetime coverage caps, the ability for adult children to stay on their parents insurance and numerous other vital protections. All of that will be gone, including the tens of thousands who are and will be covered under Utah’s partial Medicaid expansion (which, as a Utah law, Reyes is bound by his own definition of his to duty to protect).
No one is claiming ACA is perfect. No one ever has. But sending the insurance market into chaos, and taking coverage and protections away from millions, can’t benefit anyone. It’s time to end this vendetta against ACA and work together to improve it.
Utahns who suffer from illnesses and/or poverty shouldn’t have to live in fear that their own state will take away the access to health care they need to survive. A state which prides itself on being pro-family cannot be party to something that will be so devastating to so many families.
Utah’s elected officials have developed a bad habit of letting their party affiliation do their thinking for them. They would be better served by using their hearts and their brains.
Paul Gibbs
Paul Gibbs is an independent filmmaker and health care activist who has spent the past five years campaigning to get others the access to health care that saved him. He lives in West Valley City with his wife and two sons.