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Cancer groups reach out to talk ACA with Johnson

Seek meeting with Rep. Johnson about ACA repeal

Photo by Janelle Patterson Pamela Miller, 65, of Marietta, speaks with Ohio 6th District Congressman Bill Johnson’s outreach coordinator Kevin Smart about suggested reforms to the national health care policy Thursday.

MARIETTA — With the changeover of presidential power this year bringing to a head policy shifts in several arenas, lobbying groups across the nation have renewed their efforts to influence future changes.

“We’re a nonpartisan organization that is working in groups and with congressmen and senators from all over the country to advocate for the needs of those with cancer,” said Lauren Coatoam, Ohio grassroots manager with the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network. “We want to be part of solutions to ensure that those we represent get the best care and get it at an affordable rate.”

Coatoam joined Pamela Miller, 65, of Marietta, Thursday to speak with Ohio 6th District Congressman Bill Johnson’s staff about the Affordable Care Act and to voice concerns and hopes for future changes to health insurance policy in the U.S.

“I’m a 17-year survivor of Stage 4 liver cancer,” Miller explained to Johnson’s outreach coordinator Kevin Smart. “The treatments to stay in remission are very expensive, and if I had to go to the marketplace for insurance I wouldn’t be able to afford staying alive.”

Miller’s concerns with Republican Party moves to repeal Obamacare are two-fold: she is worried that insurance coverage may be lost for others who rely on consistent treatment for cancer or post-cancer treatments because of their pre-existing conditions and she said she’s concerned that insurance premiums and deductibles are currently so high that quality health care is out of reach for many.

“If I had not had access to insurance in the middle of lifelong treatment it would have been devastating,” she said. “My treatments cost $12,000 each time, with a co-pay of $4,500. That’s cost prohibitive to many and I have even had to seek financial assistance at times.”

In Ohio, 212,046 individuals have purchased coverage through Obamacare with an additional 174,500 people who receive subsidies through ACA programs to offset medical costs.

“This is a time to strengthen and improve what was started with that,” said Coatoam. “And to ensure that patient protections remain in place as policies make care more affordable.”

Though Johnson was unable to attend the meeting, Smart said he would convey Miller and Coatoam’s concerns to Johnson as he works with other legislators to move forward with further health care reform.

“And then we will try to set up a meeting with the congressman and Ms. Miller in April so they can speak more about the Affordable Care Act,” said Smart.

Johnson was able to reach The Marietta Times by phone after the meeting, though, and provided further insight into his party’s plan to replace current health insurance regulations, including a bill introduced in the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week of which Johnson is a sponsor.

“This is going to be done systematically in a three-phase approach,” said Johnson. “But our goal is to do no harm and keep the protection of those with pre-existing conditions and for young people to stay on their parent’s health insurance through age 26.”

House Resolution 628 specifically addresses the protection for patients with pre-existing conditions by reaffirming guaranteed health care access already outlined by the ACA.

But Johnson said the difference between coverage and actual access to reliable and beneficial health care lies in affordable access.

“When the premiums and deductibles aren’t affordable and you’re forced to pay $27,000 out of pocket before insurance pays a dime, that’s not accessible health care,” he said.

In tandem with a planned repeal of the ACA’s fines and mandates for budget reconciliation, Johnson said the recently confirmed Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price will be working to remove bureaucratic barriers from the path of legislators as they form a “replacement package” in the coming months.

“The implementation of all of this could take several years, but it must so because we’re not going to kick people off the bus, so to speak, of health care,” said Johnson.

Also on Johnson’s plate in the coming months are a focus on liquid natural gas export opportunities within Ohio, a broadband investment roll out for rural areas like south and eastern Ohio, and exploration into the uses of tele-medicine.

“Even when we’re on a break, I don’t sit behind a desk,” said Johnson. “I’ve been in Gallia and Meigs counties today and I’ll be in Muskingum County tonight. I’ll be glad to talk with anyone who wants to share their concerns; just call one of my district office and they will help you set up an appointment.”

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