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Rally to protect healthcare for all Americans

To the editor:

Thanks to the Mining Gazette for covering the “Save Health Care” rally that will take place this Sunday, January 15, in Houghton. I want to clarify one important aspect of this rally. The Gazette article gives the impression that the “Save Health Care” rally is only about the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). In fact, the purpose of the rally is to protect health care for all Americans. Importantly, this includes Medicare and Medicaid, which are also on the Republicans’ chopping block.

Saving health care is a nonpartisan issue. Our community is filled with people who rely on Medicare and Medicaid (including expanded Medicaid under the ACA) in many ways. Yes, there are people who are the recipients of these programs – old and young alike – who cannot afford to have these benefits reduced to privatized vouchers or cut substantially. But there are also many people in our community who count on these programs for their livelihoods – think about those who work in nursing homes and hospitals. There are very few people in this community who are not impacted by Medicare or Medicaid in one way or another. These successful programs – administered at far lower costs than private insurance programs – have helped provide medical care to the elderly and to low income people for nearly 60 years. They are now under serious threat by people like Congressman Paul Ryan. This is what the rally on January 15th is about – protecting health care for everyone! We hope to see you on the bridge.

Valorie Troesch

Dollar Bay

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