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| Timmy Morrison, featured in story by Sarah Kliff on vox.com |
There are a lot of damning numbers about the evolving Republican plan to undo the Affordable Care Act. 32 million are likely to lose their insurance; 52 million Americans have preexisting conditions; the top 0.1% of the population would get an average tax break of $197,000 from repeal of the ACA.
But I think the Obamacare debate will ultimate turn on stories-- because of the "availability heuristic." We make decisions based not on statistics -but based on the stories with powerful narrative force that remain top of mind.
Sarah Kliff, a vox.com reporter who previously worked at the Washington Post's Wonkblog, has written many of the most compelling stories.
Kliffidentified a 5 year old with a rare genetic disease who was born just after the ACA. His care exceeded lifetime maximums in his first few months of life. Without the ACA, his family would have declared bankruptcy -and it's not at all clear how they would have afforded his ongoing care. His photograph is at the top of this post.
Sarah Kliff also interviewed many Kentucky Trump voters who had voted for Donald Trump- even some whose job was to do ACA enrollments. Try not to feel awful when you read about this woman whose husband is on the liver transplant list. This really is a matter of life and death. Her quote:
I don't know. I guess I thought that, you know, he would not do this. That they would not do this, would not take the insurance away. Knowing that it's affecting so many people’s lives. I mean, what are you to do then if you cannot … purchase, cannot pay for the insurance?
I am still struck by reporting that Kliff did in 2012 about a graduate student in Texas who was doing bake sales for his chemotherapy - because he had hit the pre-ACA lifetime maximum.
The New York Times has also had good reporting on what potential ACA repeal means to real people. In the interest of balance, the Times report also included some people who feel harmed by the ACA - like those whose premiums went up. They often had higher premiums for better coverage, but didn't end up using this additional coverage so resented the cost, or even opted out of the system due to cost.
Some of the quotes:
“I Would Have Had to Decide Between Food and a Doctor Visit”
“I’m absolutely terrified”
“We Have No Other Means to Get Affordable Health Care”
“I’m absolutely terrified”
“We Have No Other Means to Get Affordable Health Care”
National Public Radiohas also been reporting on the real world implications of ACA repeal.
From a West Virginia mom whose 29 year old son suffers from opiod addiction (and who will lose services if the ACA is repealed:
"It's kind of like you're on a parallel track with them," she says. "You wait for the next crisis; you wait for the next phone call. You're upset when you don't get a phone call. You're just — you're desperate, and you're in a state of fear and anxiety so much of the time."
A coal miner with black lung disease who could lose his insurance if the ACA is repealed:
"You try to get air in them, and they don't want to cooperate with you as they did before," says retired miner James Bounds, speaking with great effort. Not every coal miner gets black lung, just as some smokers don't get cancer. But for those who do, Bounds says, the disease is devastating.
A widow in North Carolina who lost her insurance when her husband died:
Hawes, 55, is from Charlotte, N.C. She ended up going without insurance for a few years, but in 2015 she bought coverage on HealthCare.gov, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, with the help of a big subsidy.
"I was born with heart trouble and I also had, in 2003, open-heart surgery," she says. "I had breast-cancer surgery. I have a lot of medical conditions, so I needed insurance badly."
Stories matter. I'm grateful we have a free press that shares facts and impactful anecdotes!
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