Tour stops in Dayton to urge ACA protection

Jan. 30--A two-month bus tour urging preservation of the Affordable Care Act stopped by the Dr. Charles R. Drew Health Center in Dayton Monday.

There, speakers asked members of Congress -- some of whom feel newly empowered by a Republican president to repeal the ACA -- to reconsider.

Repealing the act without a suitable replacement would strip 30 million Americans of health coverage, according to the organization behind the bus tour, which calls itself "Save My Care."

The Community Health Centers of Greater Dayton -- of which the Drew Health Center is a part -- sees 16,000 patients a year, helped at least in part by the ACA, said the center's executive director, Gregory Hopkins.

"It's about access to care," Hopkins said. "That's the key."

Insuring patients makes financial sense, said one podiatrist, Dr. Tanisha Richmond. She sees diabetes patients with leg and foot problems related to diabetes, and she recalled one patient in particular who was unable to secure health insurance, until his leg was amputated.

Only then did insurance benefits kick in for that patient, Richmond told a press conference at the Drew center.

"The cost of a (leg) amputation is $100,000," Richmond said. "The cost of routine foot care, for me, is $300."

Even supporters of the ACA -- popularly known as "Obamacare" -- have acknowledged that the act needs to be improved, said Ohio Rep. Fred Strahorn, D-Dayton. "We always said that we need to do that," he said.

But wholesale repeal would be disastrous, he and others argued.

"It is irresponsible to take away health care coverage from millions of people throughout this country and destroy the system that we have in place while American families are really depending on it," Strahorn said.

Opponents of the ACA have long argued that act has raised premiums and deductibles to near-unaffordable levels and sharply curtailed the physicians and facilities many patients might consider.

The "Save My Care" tour is scheduled to stop by Capitol Square in Columbus this afternoon and Indianapolis tomorrow.

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