The Save My Care Bus rolled into the Tar Heel State on Tuesday to hear how the Affordable Care Act has impacted North Carolinians. First stop? Charlotte.
In Charlotte, we were joined by local politicians and health care advocates, who detailed what repeal of the Affordable Care Act would mean not only for folks in Mecklenburg County—but the entire state of North Carolina.
"As a state, we've elected not to expand Medicaid—and that means health care costs are higher for us than in other states."—@votetfuller
— Save My Care Bus (@savemycarebus) March 7, 2017
"There's so much wrong with this proposal—and we must stand against it. The very health of our community is at stake."—Trevor Fuller pic.twitter.com/HsMo8pStMY
— Save My Care Bus (@savemycarebus) March 7, 2017
"550,000 North Carolinians now have quality health care thanks to the Affordable Care Act."—Gelila, @LSSPCharlotte fighting to #SaveMyCare pic.twitter.com/hU3ZnnY0PN
— Save My Care Bus (@savemycarebus) March 7, 2017
Watch our entire Charlotte, North Carolina event here.
Afterwards, we headed to Asheville, North Carolina. The weather was gloomy, but that didn’t stop folks from coming out to share why the Affordable Care Act needs to stay.
In Asheville, we met John and his daughter, Julia, who shared how the ACA impacted their lives.
“My wife and I are small business owners in Asheville and I am a cancer patient—so the Affordable Care Act has been helpful to me in more ways than one.
My daughter, Julia, worked her way through college. She went on to get a law degree and found a job in Pennsylvania as an attorney at a nonprofit, assisting victims of domestic violence. The job included health coverage.
When Congress cut spending, the organization that she worked for lost funding for her position and Julia found herself unemployed and without health coverage. But for a 30-year-old—a fit and healthy individual—medical insurance was not her most pressing concern. Still, she checked out the Affordable Care Act and to her surprise, found out that she could purchase full health insurance for only about $20 a month, so she signed up.
Thank goodness. That action—that decision saved her from financial ruin. It saved my daughter’s life.
Three months after getting health insurance through the marketplace, my daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer. Just 30 years old—no family history. Without medical insurance, she probably would not have gone to the doctor.
Julia is not the exception—she is the rule. Anyone that suggests that my daughter and the millions of people like her does not deserve this compassionate hand from the wealthiest nation on earth should face her—and face me—and tell us why not.”
See how others in Asheville, North Carolina benefit from the ACA here.
