Page 7 - Florida Sentinel 4-3-20

State
Trump Continues Obamacare Attack Despite National Pandemic
New Black voters break records at Florida polls
BY JERI YONDER
Donald Trump has made it clear that he will continue his assault on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). His Justice Department will plead with the Supreme Court later this year to end Obamacare and replace it with noth- ing.
Despite Republican efforts to repeal the historic law, Obamacare celebrated its 10th anniversary last week and serves as the primary health insurance for millions of Americans and has been a lifesaver to people of color and African Americans in particular.
African Americans are dispropor- tionately impacted by killer diseases: diabetes, cancer, heart disease and hy- pertension. Prior to the passage of the law, Blacks also had the highest unin- sured rate but with the passage of Oba- macare, the uninsured rate dropped significantly because insurers were re- quired to provide affordable plans to
TERRI RIZZO Florida Democratic Party Chair
LAUREN THORNTON, M.D.
any way,” according to Dr. Lauren Thornton, a Pediatric Anesthesiolo- gist.
Trump and Congressional Repub- licans have worked openly to cut cover- age of the sweeping healthcare law without offering an alternative. Re- cently, Trump defended his attack on Obamacare, doubling down on plans to rip away protected insurance for 3.5 million Floridians with pre-existing conditions.
But Obamacare does more than just require insurance companies to give policies to people with pre-existing con- ditions. It gives tax breaks to small companies to help them cover the cost of employee health care and helps young people to remain on their par- ents’ health insurance until age 26. It mandates free preventive care and bans lifetime limits so that insurance compa- nies can’t stop paying for care in the middle of a patient’s treatment.
“Donald Trump’s obsession with destroying the Affordable Care Act shows a total disregard for our health and well-being. Tragically, Trump has
absolutely no plan for the millions of Floridians who have health insurance as a result of Obamacare and that will not change,” according to Florida Dem- ocratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo.
“Florida has had the highest ACA enrollment in the nation. The disrup- tion of that healthcare is estimated to increase the number of uninsured by 67%,” she said.
Trump’s lack of humanity, overall incompetence and what most deem racist policies makes African Ameri- cans his most ardent opponents. Polls consistently show that between 93 – 98% of African Americans want Trump out of the White House. And they have voted that way against Re- publicans, playing a major role in restoring the U. S. House of Represen- tatives to Democratic control in 2018.
More than 60,000 African Ameri- can Democrats voted for the first time in Florida’s March Presidential Prefer- ence Primary, that’s a very high num- ber for new voters. It’s a sure sign that Black Floridians will be showing up on Election Day, November 3, 2020.
communities across the country. Instead of working to expand Oba- macare, Trump and his administra- tion are trying to end it. The President's effort to destroy the land- mark law comes during the worst pos- sible time with the spread of Coronavirus. Now, more than ever, people need access to affordable health
insurance.
“The Affordable Care Act has pro-
vided the safety net for our most vul- nerable people. And with the Coronavirus pandemic, there is great cause for concern if it is degraded in
FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDA PAGE 7-A