Crowd packs town hall on Affordable Care Act, “missing” posters distributed for Rothfus

Beaver County Times (PA)

Feb. 22--BEAVER -- John Leonard came to the Affordable Care Act town hall meeting Tuesday night to share a story and argue against the law's repeal.

His 52-year-old friend is a diabetic who would have to pay $1,600 a month just for two prescriptions and testing strips if not for coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.

"If he loses the Affordable Care Act, the ability to buy cheaper insurance, it'll probably kill him," said Leonard, of Center Township.

Similar stories came one after the other inside the Beaver borough building meeting room billed as a town hall to reinforce the need for the ACA in the face of Republican promises to repeal and replace the health care law.

An estimated 150 people attended the meeting organized by a coalition of health care advocacy groups and SEIU Healthcare PA. Audience members filled every seat and stood along the walls while more people stood outside.

U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-12, Sewickley, was invited, but did not attend. Rothfus, though, was a hot topic for the crowd, who chuckled at an early comment about him being unavailable before shifting to hearty boos.

Yellow cards addressed to Rothfus, who has made repealing and replacing the ACA his main goal, were placed in every chair so that attendees could share their personal stories of the ACA with him.

There also were feisty "Missing" posters of Rothfus, providing the phone number of his local office just a few blocks down Third Street and declaring he was last seen "hiding in Washington/voting against the interests of working people."

Meeting host Tina Shannon, president of the Progressive Democrats of America, 12th Congressional District chapter, decried Rothfus' absence, saying he, like other members of Congress, are on break and should be meeting with constituents.

"That's his job," she said. "That's what he's supposed to be doing."

Monaca resident Dave Blair said his now 34-year-old son lost his job, driver's license and health insurance in his mid-20s after suffering a grand mal seizure. With his parents helping pay the insurance, Blair said his son has recovered, returned to work and become a father.

The ACA, Blair said, is a "safety net" for those not as lucky as his son to have family able to support them. "If he would not have been on that insurance, he would be dead," Blair said.

Terri Miller of Beaver Falls, an ovarian cancer survivor, said she has had four major surgeries. Without the ACA, she said companies would likely refuse to cover her based on pre-existing conditions.

"I'm afraid I might not get insurance," Miller said.

Shannon repeatedly implored the crowd to sign up for text alerts concerning Rothfus and attend postcard-writing sessions and drop-off events to try and convince him to keep the ACA.

Besides using the meeting to galvanize opposition to repealing the ACA, Shannon said she hopes that energy lasts into the 2018 election, when Rothfus is up again.

"I'm building a campaign committee," she said. "I'm building a constituency to vote against him."

Rothfus' office never responded to an email from The Times sent Monday seeking comment about the town hall.

However, he, and U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-3, Butler County, and U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-9, Bedford County, had a column published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sunday in which they argued for repealing the ACA.

"It's time for change," they said. "We have no choice to scrap this failed program and replace it with a system that gives Pennsylvanians access to the care they need, at a price they can afford and from a doctor they choose."

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