To the Editor:
I am writing in response to the 2/21/17 letter where the writer questions the need for the Affordable Care Act. That writer says all we need is Medicare for the retired folks, Medicaid for poor people, and free market for the rest. What the writer needs to understand is that prior to the ACA, private insurers would deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. What is someone with diabetes, asthma, cancer or other conditions to do? Private insurers could also cap a policy’s coverage at a maximum lifetime dollar amount.
I personally know of an extreme premature infant who spent the first few months of her lift in the neonatal intensive care unit. Our nursing staff lovingly referred to her as our “million dollar baby” because by the time she was discharged home, her hospital bill had reached her lifetime maximum amount of one million dollars. She was only a few months old and out of insurance coverage!
Take your blinders off, people! Open your eyes – and minds – about the good things the Affordable Care Act is doing for people who can’t get coverage elsewhere.
Karen Schulz, RN
Del Webb Spruce Creek Country Club
