Local doctor, protesters ask Capito to vote against ACA repeal
Dr.
"We are here today at
Doyle reported particular concerns with portions of the bill which will impact senior citizens and those
The bill calls for the elimination of
Doyle said the current American Health Care Act would be a "death blow" to opioid treatment programs that have started to treat addicts in the state.
"You might as well say, 'Take heroin. It's a lot cheaper, and we don't have to pay for it,'" Doyle summarized.
Officials at Recovery Point West Virginia, which operates four long-term, residential addiction recovery centers for men and women in three counties, reported in January that 98 percent of
Doyle said he's also bothered by portions of the bill which call for replacement of
The
Doyle said the penalties are paid to insurance companies by those who lose coverage and then purchase it again, in the form of much higher premiums paid to insurance companies.
"It would allow people who have temporarily lost their insurance to have their premiums raised if they tried to get it back again," he said.
Senior citizens will be impacted, because the
Seniors under Part D Medicare will be impacted, he said.
Prior to ACA passage in 2010, seniors under
ACA eliminated the "doughnut hole," but the
The proposed plan caps federal money per person in
Capito told MetroNews she had "deep concerns" about the impact of the current version of the bill on
Evansmore, 76, said her daughter, a resident of
"What other country, in our kind of position, doesn't take care of you?" asked Evansmore, who grew up in
"We don't choose to be sick. ... That's just the function of our bodies."
She challenged the idea that health care is a privilege for those who have the money to pay for medical care.
"I don't think health care should be linked to your income at all," said Evansmore. "You're a human being."
Workman, who has survived two cancers, had kept employer-provided insurance. During a gap in coverage as she changed jobs, she became ill and needed a surgery.
She said she had over
Workman supports a "single payer" system, in which state tax dollars pay for health care costs. Until then, she supports everyone having health insurance.
"People think medical costs are less than they are," she said. "It's practically impossible for anybody, with any income level, to pay.
"You have to have health insurance. Even young people and children can get cancer."
Doyle said that, in many cases, uninsured patients are unable to pay hospital bills at all, a situation ACA was helping to eliminate.
By law, emergency rooms must provide patient care, regardless of ability to pay.
"When a person had no money and no insurance and went in with a broken leg, and the bill was
"The hospital acts like that's real, and it's impossible," he said. "The patient's bankrupt; the hospital doesn't get the money. So ACA has been really good for (local hospitals)."
One young, male driver stopped a pick-up truck in traffic to heckle Evansmore and Workman, asking them for directions to a local hospital.
Capito and several more Republican lawmakers, including
"We're very hopeful that
Under the
The
A number of Republican senators have publicly opposed the bill.
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