Benefits of bill already apparent

This week marks the anniversary of the passage of the historic health-care reform. As a pediatrician, I have seen the benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Now preventive services including checkups and immunizations must be covered without co-payments or deductibles.

Previously, when my patients turned 18, many became uninsured. Now they can remain on their parents’ insurance until age 26. The ACA also bans denying insurance to children with pre-existing conditions and prevents plans from dropping coverage when a child becomes ill.

Given these benefits and more forthcoming, I am astounded that congressional Republicans are threatening to repeal or defund the law. If they succeed, once again families may be forced to skip children’s checkups in order to pay rent. Once again thousands of young adults will become uninsured. Once again seriously ill babies will exceed their lifetime limit before turning 1, bankrupting their families. Once again health plans can deny breathing treatments for children whose asthma is considered a pre-existing condition.

Beyond these critical provisions, the ACA also reauthorizes health programs for low-income children and provides tax credits to small businesses and working families purchasing private insurance. Turning back health-care reform would deny the needs of children and families.

— Rupin Thakkar, M.D., Seattle