WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senators Chris Coons and Tom Carper, along with Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (all D-Del.), today convened a panel to discuss the possible impacts to patients, hospitals and community health centers should the Affordable Care Act (ACA) be repealed and not replaced. The current administration and Congress has sent mixed signals about their plans to repeal the ACA, also known as “Obamacare,” saying it’s a priority but not offering a concrete plan to replace it.
Panelists who outlined the drawbacks in repealing the ACA included Dr. Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, President and Chief Executive of Christiana Care, Kristen Isaac, outreach coordinator for Westside Family Healthcare, Lolita Lopez, President and CEO of Westside Family Health, Dr. Roy Proujansky, Chief Executive of Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children, Steve Groff, Delaware Department of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Prayus Tailor, President of the Medical Society of Delaware.
Attendees also heard first-hand the story of self-employed Delawarean Kerry Orr, who receives her health care through the ACA marketplace. Shortly after enrolling, she was diagnosed with cancer. “Before having comprehensive health care through the ACA, my primary fear of having cancer would have been the financial ruin, not my health. With the health care coverage I receive through Obamacare, I could afford the treatments and the medications to get better.”
“From today’s discussion, it’s clear that repealing the Affordable Care Act without an adequate replacement plan would be an act of congressional malpractice,” said Sen. Coons. “Should the Republican-controlled Congress be successful in stripping away health care, more than 30,000 of our friends, family and neighbors in Delaware would have comprehensive health care access ripped away, causing a nightmare scenario not just for individual Delawareans, but also for the First State’s budget, which is already facing budget shortfalls.”
“Like most of what we’ve heard from Republicans about their plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, President Trump’s executive action on the ACA have created instability, uncertainty, fear, and no relief for the thousands of Delawareans and millions of Americans who are scared about the future of their health care,” said U.S. Senator Tom Carper. “Today’s roundtable provided an insightful discussion on the effects that would be felt here in the first state – from patients who have been helped by this legislation to our state’s most vulnerable hospitals and health centers. I urge President Trump and Republicans in Congress to heed the warnings of our health care providers who have been calling on us to provide clear and transparent transition plans and regulatory certainty and to build on the progress achieved by the ACA before repealing any part of the health care law to ensure all Americans can keep their health insurance coverage and improve and strengthen our health insurance market.”
“We have all acknowledged that there is room to improve the Affordable Care Act to promote access and to drive costs down, but we cannot simply repeal it without a viable replacement plan,” Rep. Blunt Rochester said. “The bottom line is that not only will tens of thousands of Delawareans be stripped of their healthcare, but thousands of good-paying jobs will be lost. We have to come together and have an honest conversation, with members of both political parties at the table, about the ways we can improve quality of care and affordability for Delawareans and Americans alike.”
“In Delaware we have made tremendous progress in expanding access to care and transforming our health care system. We are deeply concerned about the potential for tens of thousands of Delawareans to lose coverage under a repeal of the ACA and for providers to face barriers to continued innovation,” said Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, Christiana Care president and CEO. “Be assured that regardless of what the future holds, Christiana Care will be here to care for our community, will continue our journey to deliver high value care, and will partner with our state and others to overcome any challenges and advance the health of all those we serve.”
“The Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) have worked together to help more children get the health coverage they need for success and health - in the early years and later in life,” said Dr. Roy Proujansky, Chief Executive Nemours Delaware Valley Operations. “With all that has been accomplished through the ACA, for children and families in Delaware and across the nation, we should be moving forward, not backward.”
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