An Obamacare celebration chilled by its uncertain future

March 24--PEORIA -- Supporters of the Affordable Care Act solemnly celebrated the seventh anniversary of signing the it into law with a cold Downtown rally as the future of the health care law was yet to be decided by a divided Congress.

Less than an hour after news broke that the House would not take up a vote Thursday on the American Health Care Act, about 30 people converged outside of the Federal Courthouse, which houses Republican Darin LaHood's Peoria office. Speakers, who shared a microphone hooked into a small speaker system, spoke as traffic rolled by. Cars occasionally honked in support of their signs, which read, among other things, "Love will always Trump hate."

Speakers spent nearly equal time praising the Affordable Care Act and demonizing its proposed replacement, the American Health Care Act, and its supporters, including LaHood.

"Today, I really want to honor the Affordable Care Act and the president who brought it forward. Whatever imperfections it may have, it represents a moment in American history when we as a people said we are going to provide health care for everyone. Now even that incomplete step forward is in jeopardy," said the Rev. Michael Brown, minister at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Peoria. "Where in the world is our moral compass? What are we thinking about that we think kicking people off health care somehow improves our country?"

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the AHCA would eliminate coverage for 24 million Americans in the next 10 years, while eliminating taxes imposed on the wealthiest in the country to fund government subsidies for the lower and middle class.

The GOP replacement bill included a rollback of the ACA's expanded Medicaid program, which has extended coverage to more than 650,000 people in Illinois.

"As a whole, the American Health Care Act is not compassionate. Any health care act that cuts Medicaid is not a compassionate health care act," said Marissa Arevalo, whose daughter has a seizure disorder and cerebral palsy and relies on Medicaid to cover health care costs. "It might affect her care, because if the state runs out of money, what am I going to do?"

Junius Rodriguez, a Eureka College professor who ran against LaHood in the 2016 general election, called Congress' decision to postpone an AHCA vote a "small victory" for supporters of the ACA, and could signal a turning tide in Washington, D.C.

"I think the more and more that we see politicians who only want to pay attention to the donor class, who only want to meet with those who have been the big contributors, who only want to meet with those in safe meetings -- They don't want to meet with America. They don't want to meet with us. They don't want to hear the real stories," said Rodriguez, who said he's still considering whether he'll run again in the 18th Congressional District. "What we need is politicians who are willing to listen to the residents, who are willing to listen to the stories and who truly will represent the interests of the people."

Laura Nightengale is the Journal Star's health and lifestyle reporter. She can be reached at 686-3181 or lnightengale@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @lauranight.

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