One of the lines Republicans have tested on Obamacare repeal is that it just isn't that big of a deal. Not that many people will be affected by it at all. That's a big lie.
One of the first things Tracy Trovato did — once she overcame the shock of learning her 42-year-old, marathon-training husband had leukemia — was look through their health insurance documents.
She dug up one paper that said the plan would pay no more than $1 million for medical services in a lifetime. The Chicago woman and her husband, Carlo, called their insurance company in a panic.
"Our first question was, 'Can we take care of leukemia in a million dollars?'" Tracy Trovato said. The woman on the other end of the line reassured them, telling them, "The president took care of that, we don't have maximum caps anymore," Trovato recalled.
"Those were among the sweetest words," said Trovato, whose insurance is through her husband's employer.
And that's probably gone with Obamacare repeal. Along with children up to age 26 being on their parents' plans, employers with more than 50 workers having to provide insurance, free preventive care, affordable coverage regardless of whether you have a pre-existing condition, and seniors saving billions on prescription drugs. All in jeopardy now. "We view everything as being threatened right now," said Kathy Waligora, director of the health reform initiative of EverThrive Illinois. That's for the 156 million Americans who have employer coverage as of last year.
Which pretty much means the only people who won't be adversely affected by Obamacare repeal—other than the filthy rich—are the people who've remain uninsured because they fell into the Medicaid gap or don't have citizenship. This is just something else for Democrats to keep in mind when Republicans come calling for their help on this. They'd be better off spending their time and energy informing their constituents of what Republicans want to take away from them than helping them do it.