Note: We’ve been overwhelmed by the number of Nebraskans who wanted to tell us how the health insurance protections of the Affordable Care Act have improved their lives. This is one of those stories.
Rose’s Story
I am a 63-year-old woman who works for a non-profit organization, Volunteers of America – Western Nebraska. VOA-WN is a church of service, and our primary work is with low-income households.
Between 60-70 percent of Garden County, where I live, is in poverty. I teach a Sunday School class in my church and visit my two beautiful grandchildren (Brooke – 4 months and Jackie – 2 1/2 years) in north Denver at least once per month. I am nearing retirement age, but hope to work as long as possible. My passion is to feed the hungry and uplift all peoples.
I work to stay as healthy as possible, but I do have an autoimmune disease. I am continually thankful that pre-existing conditions are not allowed to count against you. I am a 16-year cervical cancer survivor and am so thankful for the pap screenings that are included in the preventative care portion. (They are mandatory for me until 2021.)
I am also grateful for the reduced cost of prescriptions that I receive with my health care coverage. I am able to work full time and do volunteer work without the constant stress of enormous medical costs. Before the Affordable Care Act, the least-expensive policy I could locate cost 75 percent of my monthly salary (an obvious impossibility) and would not start covering medical costs until after a $10,000 deductible.
Hallelujah for a health insurance plan I can now afford!
Before the ACA, one major illness could mean losing my small savings, my home, and everything. Our government needs to understand the continued importance of caring for ALL of its people.
Rose A. Brassfield,
Oshkosh, NE
Take Action!
Call the local offices of Nebraska’s U.S. Senators today and tell them they must vote “NO” on the Graham-Cassidy health care bill that will cause premiums to skyrocket for thousands of Nebraskans and make enormous cuts to Medicaid.
Sen. Deb Fischer (202) 224-6551 Sen. Ben Sasse (202) 224-4224
Tell their staff how important the ACA’s protections are to you or someone you care about.