Town hall on potential repeal of Affordable Care Act planned for Tuesday in Beaver

Feb. 20--BEAVER -- A coalition of health care advocates and workers, and Pennsylvania residents plan on holding a town hall Tuesday on Republican efforts to abolish the Affordable Care Act whether U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus accepts their invitation to attend or not.

The town hall is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Beaver municipal building at 469 Third St.

Rothfus, R-12, Sewickley, who has long argued for repealing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was invited by organizers "to share his plan to keep them and their loved ones covered," according to an email from SEIU Healthcare PA, which represents nurses and other health-care workers in the state.

Karen Gownley, a spokeswoman for SEIU Healthcare PA, said Rothfus did not respond to the invitation by Feb. 15 as requested. As of Monday, Gownley said about 160 people had committed to attend the event.

Rothfus' office did not respond to a message seeking comment on Monday, a federal holiday.

A similar town hall in Allentown is being held Tuesday night to which U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh County, has been invited, said the Pennsylvania Health Access Network in a subsequent email.

Congressional Republicans who have held town halls have been flooded with complaints about their efforts to dismantle the ACA. Even though "repeal and replace" was a central theme for many Republicans over the last seven years, President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans have not introduced a plan to replace the ACA if it is repealed.

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