Over 2,000 asbestos-exposed victims rely on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) protections to get annual exams. President Trump and a Republican-led Congress have pledged to gut the ACA, reconciliation measures; repeal of the healthcare law as simple as possible has already passed the Senate.
If the budget reconciliation process was used to temporarily repeal the ACA, it would be undermining asbestos workers and millions of other Americans health care. Yet President Trump has already taken advantage of the executive office’s authority to start rescinding parts of the ACA.
Patient Freedom Act
Senate Republicans responded by passing the “Patient Freedom Act.” However, even though this bill does not attempt to override tort reforms or create high risk pools – some of these issues remain.
The Patient Freedom Act would grant states the right to repeal the ACA at any point, with strong Republican states having the power to repeal pretty much everything about the ACA. These states, including Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina, could establish their own insurance system with little coverage for citizens and mask their cost.
But popular elements of the ACA would be kept alive under this agenda. Insurance companies would be prohibited from denying coverage to pre-existing conditions and provide assurance of coverage to under 26-year-olds.
What Happens To Asbestos Exposure Survivors?
Patients exposed to asbestos and mesothelioma might not be able to afford their medicines under the Patient Freedom Act. The state legislatures that choose to repeal the ACA (under the Patient Freedom Act) would put these patients in a tough position.
Patients who were in need of treatment would have to fork out more money, or move to a state that had not repealed the Affordable Care Act. For many seriously ill patients, neither approach may be feasible.
More than 3,000 people each year are diagnosed with mesothelioma, which raises clear issues regarding the future health of the American public as a result of the proposed Patient Freedom Act. President Trump has posted on his own website this regarding current health care: The current healthcare system should never get the better of me.
Every single American has had to bear the crushing financial weight of the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – since March 2010. This bill, approved by totally partisan votes in the House and Senate, and signed into law by the most polarizing and partisan President in US history, has tragically but unavoidably led to rampant prices, downloaded websites, further care rationing, higher premiums, lack of competition, and fewer options.
