Silke Jasso
[protected-iframe id=”3f9bb49fc55bb0215d68346199d7bc03-46934866-40689585″ info=”http://interactive.tegna-media.com/video/embed/embed.html?id=2478053&type=video&title=Lawmakers working to repeal ACA&site=51&playerid=6918249996581&dfpid=32805352&dfpposition=Video_prestream_external§ion=home” width=”640″ height=”360″ style=”border-width:0″]
Videos by Rare
As Congress works towards repealing Obamacare, some of the people that it helped the most are worried that it won’t be replaced after it’s repealed, and they’ll be left with no insurance.
One of those people is Kristina McLean, a Knoxville, Tennessee, mother who was able to beat breast cancer thanks to the pre-existing condition coverage that Obamacare put in place.
Before Obamacare, McLean and her husband, who were both self-employed, tried to get insurance coverage for over a decade and were turned down over and over again.
McLean was diagnosed with breast cancer and said that she was “terrified” because they didn’t have insurance.
“I did not have insurance at that time, I was terrified, absolutely terrified,” McLean WBIR reporter, Leslie Ackerson. “We had tried for 14 years to get insurance, we had applied over 40 places.”
However, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, she was able to get coverage and fight the disease.
She also credits the Affordable Care Act with her being able to have a child. After defeating breast cancer, McLean gave birth to her daughter with provisions put in place by the health care bill.
“I was relieved, pretty much elated, it gave me great peace of mind,” said McLean.
McLean is worried about what the future holds for her family if Congress repeals Obamacare without having a replacement plan ready to go.
“I will never be able to be self-employed again,” she said. “I would constantly be worried and concerned, not about myself, but my daughter.”
McLean added, “They’ve had 8 years to come up with an alternative plan, and they haven’t managed that yet, so I’m not hopeful that what they come up with will be of any use.”
McLean isn’t the only one who’s worried about what will happen if Obamacare is repealed without having a viable replacement plan in place. A Public Policy Polling revealed that out of 840 Tennessee voters, 57 percent want Congress to keep Obamacare and fix any problems it has, while 37 percent want them to start from scratch.
Nationwide, only 14 percent of Americans think that Obamacare should be repealed without being replaced. However, the nationwide poll did show stronger support for the health care law to be repealed, with 31 percent of Americans voicing support for Obamacare to be repealed and replaced and 38 percent wanting Obamacare to be strengthened and expanded.
McLean hopes that lawmakers will listen to the American people when they are deciding what to do about America’s health care system.
“You are so stressed when you have cancer you worry about everything, worrying about how to pay for it is worse,” said McLean. “This will cause a lot of panic, it will affect people in so many ways.”
