Who in the government should I send my letter to?

Write to both your Senators
Write to your district Rep. You only have one.

Ahh I’d forgotten it was broken down further than just county. That sounds great, thanks!

@josie gave you a solid answer and I would add it would not hurt to let your Governor know your feelings on ACA as this issue could very well default to state rule.

Write to your Senators, your Representative in the US Congress. Your Governor wouldn’t be a bad idea ether, nor would the person(s) who represent you in your state legislature. Sending letters to city/county officials is a waste however. This is an issue far above their level of government.

Okay cool, thanks so much guys! So tomorrow I will send our four letters: my 2 senators, my district representative, and my governor.

You can start online campaign / petition also if you’re so passionate about it!

Would you bless us all by sharing the letter, here?

Posting to Facebook won’t be of much help I guess.

The more people who read it the better. Send it to the Globe. Hel, send it to Donsld himself. And Trump has stated that he intends to keep the provisions forbidding denial of coverage. And no politician is going to allow themselves to be associated with any legislation snatching coverage from the 20 million previously uninsured.

Yup.. that’s why I suggested online campaign / petition which people will take seriously.

I agree your senators, the repnfor your district, and why not write the president in January too.

Your letter focuses really on the rules regarding pre-existing conditions and aging out while still dependent on parents. Trump has said he wants to protect those provisions. He has been fairly consistent about it. The Republicans have wanted to get rid of the whole thing, so the letter is definitely worth sending, but I’m just saying that hopefully Trump will stick with his inclination to protect the health of all citizens. The problem in my opinion is I’m fearful his solution won’t achieve everything he intends.

I do think his world experience, and having been married to women from countries with socialized medicine, helps feed his ideal that healthcare should be available for everyone. He just isn’t in favor of truly socializing it, rather he talks about making it more competitive. It won’t work. I don’t think it will work. I don’t feel ACA worked well either, but I’m glad it helped you. The provision for adult children through age 26 is a really good one, I can’t imagine that it isn’t financially good for insurance companies? Most young adults are healthy and rarely go to the doctor.

A friend of mine just had to find insurance, because her company dumped her. I don’t even see how that can happen now?

Send it to the future President, why not. Also send it to some news outlets like NY Times, Huff Post, (some liberal ones).

Here’s the thing. Yes, Trump says he wants to keep those provisions. That is impossible to pay for without a universal mandate. It’s like letting people get auto insurance only after they’ve crashed their car. So if he keeps the universal mandate….nothing has changed. If he removes it, he breaks Obamacare. He can’t have it both ways. This is why I’m still scared despite his assurances that he likes those pieces.

I would be fine with him lowering the age from 26 to 22 (the age of most college graduates) as long as there were exceptions for extenuating circumstances. I agree that particular clause is making it very hard to pay for.

@Mariah I wonder what the economics are? It seems to me adult children are a good money maker for insurance as long as they don’t get pregnant. Maybe the requirement just be that if they are still dependents they can stay on their parents insurance? 22 is too young. A lot of people graduate at 23. Five year plan, or just started school at age six.

I’m pretty sure I was covered under my parents until I graduated college. I think that was the exception, until 18 unless in college then longer. I’d have to check with them. The reason I bring it up is because I had military coverage. The country does it for the military, unless things have changed, or I might remember incorrectly. At school I think I had coverage also to use their clinic.

I’d be okay with coverage until college graduation, and beyond if the child has health problems. Then the healthy young people who are working will be paying into the system.

@Mariah I applaud you on writing your leaders. Your story carries such an important message I think needs to be heard on a wider scale. If you have the energy to do so, you might want to contact the media, CNN MSNBC, local papers and TV stations…Twitter and facebook #healthylivesmatter. Glad you are on the mend.

@Cruiser, I appreciate you saying that, especially because I know we are somewhat in disagreement on the issue of the ACA. I want the world to hear me, I truly think I’m the poster child of the kind of situation the ACA is supposed to protect, I’ll go to any length. I’ll send my letter to some news outlets too. Thanks for the encouragement, everybody.

@Mariah If the child has health problems it’s a financial drain on the system. That’s why it should be everyone paying in. The insurers aren’t going to like an exception for sick people. In fact, the average person shouldn’t like it.

The system I’m proposing is no worse for insurance companies than current ACA; it is better, it gets healthy young people into the system while continuing to allow the sick ones to stay on their parents’ insurance as they can now.

I still insist that our stupidly backward country will be forced into single payer universal healthcare. Things are already at the point where the choice is bankruptcy whether you are insured or not. It’s merely a choice between risking uninsured catastrophic illness or the certainty of unaffordable crippling premiums.

@Mariah I realize that, but “they” hate the ACA and it’s been terrible for many companies and most citizens making over $60k. My health insurance for my husband and me through the ACA program would be over $800 a month. That’s a ton of money for a couple making only $60k.

Don’t get me wrong, I want everyone to be insured. We just need everyone to pay in and someone to crack down on fees and costs.

I think your letter is great. I think most people think of young people as always being healthy, and it’s not true. Many young people have serious illnesses.

Can I also suggest sending it as a “letter to the editor” of your local newspaper? It is certainly publication worthy. You could always give an alias and alter the few personally identifying details so your privacy remains intact.

I am going to moderate my post that contained my letter as it looks like the Washington Post might be interested in publishing it, and they have to have exclusivity.

@Mariah that is freaking awesome.

I shouldn’t talk about it like it’s a sure thing at all, I’m just excited. I sent it today as an opinion piece and was surprised to get a reply so fast. They said this is more appropriate as a letter to editor, please submit there. I feel like that’s promising? I’m getting ahead of myself.

@Mariah excited for you too. Keep us briefed of any updates!

@Mariah Yay! That’s so exciting. I’m so happy for you and the cause.

Nice going Mariah!