On January 20, 2017, as we all know, Donald Trump took the oath of office. Changes that happened that weekend have impacted many people either in a positive or negative light. Since his oath, there were so many changes that happened within days. Within hours of taking his oath, Donald Trump signed an executive order to “seek the prompt repeal” of the Affordable Care Act. By doing so, one of his prime concerns will be taking down the health care law that supports over 20 million Americans.
The day before the inauguration we discussed health care, health insurance, and the politics of women’s health in all of my classes that I am enrolled in. Being that I am a woman, these kinds of issues are extremely important to me. We currently have The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). According to The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, this was signed for “hospitals and primary physicians to transform their practices financially, technologically, and clinically to drive better health outcomes, lower costs, and improve their methods of distribution and accessibility. According to one of the reports done in Our Bodies, Ourselves, the U.S. spends more on health care than any country, yet we are the only industrialized country where everyone is not automatically covered for health care services.
The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, entails many things that us as millennials may have not even known about. The act allows you to stay on your parent's health insurance until age 26, and it ended lifetime caps. It also assures that no one could be denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions, and it gives people access to private insurance. If Obamacare is repealed, it will affect a tremendous number of people.
As I was reading up on numerous articles surrounding this event, an article from The New York Times, “Trump’s Vow to Repeal Health Law Revives Talk of High-Risk Pools,” struck my mind. Joanne Fitzgerald was featured and told her story about how she got a divorce after a doctor diagnosed her with a mild form of gastritis. Once her divorce became final, she lost health coverage from her husband’s employer, and insurances refused to cover her because of her pre-existing condition. Because of Obamacare, she was able to get insured. Now that Trump and Congress are vowing to repeal and replace the act, according to The New York Times, about “7 percent of people under 65 are thought to have some sort of pre-existing condition that will most likely leave them without individual insurance if the law is repealed.”
Not only is this issue affecting boomers and gen-x-ers, it is affecting millennials. Talia Zahm, a colleague of mine, says, “It is stupid. It’s definitely going to affect me after college and any future generations coming up. I would love to stay under my parent’s insurance until I’m 26. Now I feel rushed to find a job when that in itself is hard.” Talia is a student here at Loyola Marymount University. While finishing up her final semester of senior year, she is distraught by all the actions taken by our current President.
People want to get rid of Obamacare because it is not generating profit. For people who have health insurance, it does not necessarily mean they have health care and can afford it. These health insurance companies are raising premiums because insurance companies aren't making profit when they’re “giving” insurance to everyone who needs it. I can paint a picture in my mind as to what Donald Trump is trying to do, but I disagree with his methods. All we can to do is wait and see what the outcome will be.
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