What: Community forum to support the Affordable Care Act
When: Wednesday, June 14 at 6 p.m.
Where: Grace Presbyterian Church (218 Fayette St., Martinsville, VA 24112)
Martinsville, Va. — Virginia Organizing will hold a “Protect Our Care” community forum and call-to-action on Wednesday, June 14 at 6 p.m. at Grace Presbyterian Church. The community forum will feature local patients, health care providers, and community leaders sharing personal stories about why they support the Affordable Care Act and oppose plans to reduce access to health care through the proposed American Health Care Act.
For Martinsville resident Ellen Jessee, the issue is personal.
“My husband was forced to retire early due to health problems. Without the Affordable Care Act, he would not have been able to get health insurance because of a pre-existing condition,” said Jessee, a leader in the Martinsville/Henry County Chapter of Virginia Organizing. “I’m morally dedicated to the idea that every individual in this country needs and deserves good health care. A good health care system is an investment in our future.”
Dr. Makunda Abdul-Mbacke, a local OB-GYN with a practice in Ridgeway, knows how important it is to protect and strengthen the Affordable Care Act.
“As a physician I see first hand the difference between having insurance and not having insurance. The Affordable Care Act brought more people under insurance coverage than any other legislation. It is not perfect, so we need to find ways to make it better. Throwing it away is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” said Mbacke.
The American Health Care Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in May, would result in 23 million Americans losing health coverage, cut $834 billion from Medicaid over 10 years, and allow insurers to charge people with pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes more for insurance without guaranteeing coverage for essential health benefits like mental health treatment, maternity care, and prescriptions.
For more information, or to interview a spokesperson, please contact Nik Belanger at 434-709-4953 or nik.belanger@virginia-organizing.org.
Virginia Organizing is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization that brings people together to create a more just Virginia.
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