EDITORIAL: Health care repeal misguided

May 05--The House of Representatives have passed their American Health Care Act, which likely won't pass the Senate.

One reason is because even Senate Republicans have concerns about the cuts to healthcare benefits, like Medicaid expansion, that cover so many in their districts.

Senate Democrats oppose it for many of the same reasons.

While there are issues with the Affordable Care Act that those on both sides of the aisle would like to address, there are certain popular provisions that neither party's senators want to be associated with eliminating -- provisions that allow those with pre-existing conditions to purchase insurance, that cover those who fell into a wage gap by offering them Medicaid, and that expand mental health and addiction recovery services, for example.

It's for these reasons that we also join with U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, in opposing the Republican-backed American Health Care Act.

While no health care plan will be perfect, or make everyone happy, the provisions in the Affordable Care Act that provide expanded coverage, especially for mental health and drug addiction treatment, is important to Ohio -- especially for Lawrence County and Southern Ohio, which has been hit hard by the prescription drug and opiate epidemic.

Ohio's Senators, in an increasingly rare example of bipartisan cooperation, have come together repeatedly to speak about the need to fund addiction recovery through supplemental bills, and by assuring that whatever health care system Congress passes to replace the ACA maintains these important funding provisions.

For that dedication to placing the needs of the people they represent over partisan politics, we commend them both.

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