Washington, D.C. — A new video relays the personal challenges of Andrea Mitchell, a Catskill, New York, native, who was born with intestinal and reproductive defects. With quality health care, Mitchell was able live past her life expectancy of 18 and remembers living with the uncertainty of lifetime limits on her health care benefits before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed. With the ACA prohibiting these limits, Mitchell no longer had to worry about the lifetime caps on her health care or the fact that she was born with pre-existing conditions, but she fears going back to that time given the Republican Party’s hostility toward the ACA and pre-existing conditions protections. As Mitchell explains, Rep. John Faso’s (R-NY-19) vote to repeal health care protections put her life at risk.
Watch the video on Twitter.
Watch the video on YouTube.
In a viral video shot in 2017, Rep. Faso was seen promising Mitchell that he would not vote to take away her health care. However, when it came time to vote, Rep. Faso broke that promise. As Mitchell states in this new video, “Congressman John Faso voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. I don’t know how Congressman Faso can possibly represent his constituents. If they vote on something that can change our lives, we are owed an explanation on that vote.”
The video is part of an ongoing effort by the Center for American Progress Action Fund to provide a platform for real Americans who are being negatively affected by the GOP’s donor-driven agenda.
Unfortunately, this story is familiar to many New Yorkers. According to an analysis by CAP, 92,300 people in New York’s 19th district ages 34 and below live with pre-existing conditions. Without the ACA and protections on pre-existing conditions, many like Mitchell are at constant risk of losing their health care under the continued Republican-led sabotage of the ACA.
Rep. Faso has long promised to repeal Obamacare and voted to do so. As part of the Republican tax bill, he also voted to repeal the individual mandate, which will likely cause premiums to be as much as $572 higher than they otherwise would be for New Yorkers. According to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, nearly 1,227,100 New Yorkers will lose health care and pre-existing conditions protections if the ACA is repealed in the future.
For more information on this topic or to talk to an expert, please contact Jesse Lee at [email protected] or 202-741-6350.
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The Center for American Progress Action Fund is the sister advocacy organization of the Center for American Progress. The Action Fund transforms progressive ideas into policy through rapid response communications, legislative action, grassroots organizing and advocacy, and partnerships with other progressive leaders throughout the country and the world. The Action Fund is also the home of the Progress Report.