<p><strong>To the editor:</strong></p>
<p>The Affordable Care Act (sometimes called the ACA or Obamacare) has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on health care in Indiana. In 2017, nearly 150,000 Hoosiers were enrolled through the ACA Marketplace. In addition, more than 1.4 million Hoosiers get comprehensive, affordable health coverage through Medicaid, which Indiana expanded thanks to the ACA.</p>
<p>Republicans continue to threaten these Hoosiers’ access to health care and that of anyone covered by private insurance with a pre-existing condition. The results of Republican moves to repeal the ACA would be devastating. Once again, insurers would be able to deny or drop coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Young adults would no longer be able to stay on their parent’s plan until the age of 26, which allows many to finish their educations and start building careers. Lifetime limits would resurface, and many people would be at risk of losing essential health benefits — such a maternity care, which might no longer be included in many health care plans.</p>
<p>All of this and more would be lost, making Indiana less healthy. We should be focused on improving our state’s health care — for instance, lowering our maternal mortality rate, which is one of the worst in the U.S., a nation which already has the worst maternal mortality rate in the developed world. Indiana needs to keep working to improve health care, not take steps backward. Please tell your Congressman and Senators to protect the Affordable Care Act!</p>
<p><p style="text-align: right"><strong>Lyndsey Lane</strong></p>
<p><p style="text-align: right"><strong>Franklin</strong></p>
