Long before the election, we’ve been asking nurses to share their experiences with lawmakers and with each other. What you’ve seen and learned in the classroom and on the job is the truth of healthcare in America. But ever since the election, news stories on TV and online only want to talk about the political fights around healthcare – not the truth from nurses like you.
That’s why we’ll keep sharing your stories here in Washington – so the new Congress and the new administration see more than the political stakes and the dollar signs.
They need to hear the experiences of nurses like Lisa:
It would be grand if the ACA could be “fixed” to allow truly affordable coverage. I see patients at least once a week without coverage, and I work only with children. Those without are middle class who don’t make enough to afford it and make too much for assistance. I know families without insurance because they can’t afford the premiums. I know those whose jobs have been cut back to part time so employers can avoid offering too expensive health care. – Lisa, MI
And Cindy:
Many of my patients struggle to afford their medications, deductibles are going up as are monthly premiums. I don’t understand why the CEOs of insurance companies get paid such exorbitant salaries while denying coverage for basic diabetes supplies.
I would hope some kind of compromise could be reached in order to continue Medicaid expansion to all 50 states. Since I work in pediatrics, many of my patients are young adults who rely on their parent’s insurance coverage until age 26, so this needs to stay in place. – Cindy, TN
While pundits and politicians debate questions of health insurance in terms of millions of patients, or billions of dollars, they’re missing the vital perspective of nurses who work one-on-one with patients who could lose access to healthcare altogether.
And for nurses like Sarah, it hits even closer to home:
I am a nurse who is caring for my disabled parents and 3 small children. I also have my 24 year old cousin who lives with me. The Affordable Care Act makes sure that half of the members of my household have access to affordable healthcare. It also effects the ability of my patients to have access to mental health care. Please, do not repeal the ACA. You will plummet families like mine into financial crisis. – Sarah, CO
Lisa, Cindy, and Sarah see the struggles of their patients every day. And by sharing their own experiences, they’re helping Washington see more clearly what’s really at stake as the new Congress begins talking about massive changes to our healthcare system.
What have you seen that Washington needs to hear if they’re going to get healthcare right? Leave a comment below to weigh in!
I am the head nurse for a community funded free clinic. We only care for patients that are uninsured, and have been helping them get into the system with the affordable care. However, many patients still can’t pay for their insurance/deductibles and pay for their family living expenses. Recently we had a man who knew he was diabetic, but had lost his job that pd $5/hr. He came to us with an incredibly high blood sugar level simply because he could never get his insulin. His feet were painful, his eyesight was suffering. He is now on his insulin dose, checking his sugars regularly, met with our dietician and is eating healthy within his budget. And he was able to find some work and finally able to pay for his insurance. So he is ecstatic that he had his teeth cleaned – the first time in years. With some help patients can gain control of their health and avoid the nasty complications of neglect of their health care. And those complications are much more costly than maintenance and are paid by the community at large. Everyone working in this clinic are volunteers committed to health care as a basic right for all individuals. Strong individuals make for a healthy community.
I am a nurse who is insured under the ACA! The ACA allows people from various income levels to afford coverage and improves career flexibility, promotes innovation and creativity while pursuing the American dream. My state, WA, has fully embraced and expanded coverage under the ACA and if other states did the same, I think more people would see how beneficial the ACA is.