Sarah Aronson

Because the GOP loathes the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

A little more than twenty years ago, I found myself in the kind of situation no one wants to be in. My family was in the middle of a health care emergency, and our insurance company refused to cover the costs.

No one should have to face a phone call like this. No one should have to go into debt to get the care they need. My story ended well, but when I was a physical therapist, I met too many people who had to discontinue critical treatments. They couldn’t afford them. Some relied on community-hospital emergency rooms for everyday health care needs—from sniffles to fevers—thus passing the cost to the taxpayers. One year, most of my patients—kids with traumatic brain injuries and neurological diseases—were allotted no more than thirty minutes of physical therapy a week. It was grossly inadequate. These kids deserved so much more. They deserved dignity.

Over the years, I wrote to our leaders, asking for accessible and affordable health care. When the ACA became law, I celebrated. This was progress. This was respect.

Now we are at a turning point. While the GOP loathes the ACA, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz believe that health care is a right for all, not a privilege for the few. They’ll expand coverage and control the cost of medicine, so that we all feel secure and safe, even when disaster strikes. Especially when disaster strikes.

They understand that investing in our health will make us all more productive. They understand that to thrive, we must feel safe. They won’t turn their backs on our most vulnerable citizens. Their compassion is their greatest strength.

That’s why I am proudly voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

Sarah Aronson is a Chicago-based writer. She loves anything with sparkles.