Manchester Link
By Andrew Sylvia
July 28, 2020

MANCHESTER, N.H. – With the 2020 General Election just 100 days away, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) came to Stark Park on Monday morning to discuss the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as “Obamacare”, and its impact on healthcare costs.

Shaheen told the audience that if the law were repealed, 572,000 Granite Staters with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, substance abuse disorder and cancer would lose protections in their healthcare plans and 105,000 Granite Staters would lose their coverage completely.

The event was scheduled to take place just one day before the third anniversary of an attempt to repeal the ACA by Senate Republicans.

Shaheen criticized Republicans that effort and efforts since then to repeal the ACA.

“We need to build on the Affordable Care Act, making health care more accessible by reducing copayments and lowering the cost of prescription drugs,” she said. “Yet the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans are dead set on eliminating the ACA without a plan to replace it. Taking away people’s health care is incredibly reckless, especially during a pandemic.

Shaheen added that the effort in 2017 was stopped largely due to stories of people helped by the ACA, such as New Hampshire State Senator Kevin Cavanaugh (D-Manchester).

“It’s difficult to talk about this still, but five years ago my wife, Kerri, was diagnosed with colon cancer and every six months she goes to get tested. She’s been cancer-free for five years—it’s great, but it’s always in the back of your mind,” said Cavanaugh. “If [repeal] goes through, she’s got a pre-existing illness along with almost 600,000 other New Hampshire residents. And if she lost her coverage, it would be devastating to us.”

On Tuesday, Shaheen’s campaign followed up the event by kicking off a series of videos from local advocates for the ACA, beginning with Dr. Cheryl Wilkie.