Visclosky: People know what they stand to lose in health care debate

Post-Tribune (Gary, IN)

July 01--In 2010, U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky returned to Northwest Indiana and was met with anger over the Affordable Care Act.

Seven years later, the Merrillville Democrat is once again seeing debate over health care legislation, but the conversation has now changed.

"What's different today is that the Affordable Care Act is the law of the United States," Visclosky said.

The U.S. Senate is now debating a proposal to overhaul the health care legislation, after the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the bill in May. Visclosky opposed the bill.

In 2010, when the Affordable Care Act passed, Visclosky said people didn't know much about what the law meant and that made them nervous.

Uncertainty always causes people to be concerned, Visclosky said, and the ACA in 2010 was a fundamental change. Visclosky said the discussion on the bill in 2010 also faced misinformation about what the bill contained.

Now, there are real world experiences as to what the ACA looks like in practice, Visclosky said.

"It's more than just a concept manipulated in public debate," Visclosky said.

As the health care legislation is being rewritten, Visclosky said people know how the bill affected their lives and are upset over the programs and services being removed.

People are afraid they will lose coverage, their costs will go up and their children might no longer get coverage under their plans.

There have been a number of efforts to repeal and replace the ACA, Visclosky said, but those seem to be stalled.

"We can make the Affordable Care Act better," Visclosky said.

As the bill waits in the Senate, Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-South Bend, said, in a statement, that a bipartisan solution must be reached to put together a health bill that works for the American people.

"It is clear that this current bill would not improve our health care system, but rather would result in people paying more and taking care away from millions of Americans," Donnelly said, in a statement. "Now is the time for Senators to work together in a bipartisan manner to make reforms to the health care system that will stabilize the individual market and help make health care more accessible and affordable for Hoosiers. I stand ready to work with anybody who wants to improve our health care system."

Maybe if the majority sees that there is still support for the ACA, people can begin negotiating to improve the bill, Visclosky said, and members of Congress should see if there's common ground where positive changes can be made.

"I do believe the system is overly complex," Visclosky said.

The sooner Congress removes the uncertainty, it will be helpful to the entire health care system, Visclosky said. Congress shouldn't undermine the system, Visclosky said.

Visclosky said everyone has had their stay and it's time to take a breath and calm down.

"Let's talk about real positive change to move forward," Visclosky said.

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