August 2, 2012
To the Editor:
In an editorial in the Metrowest Daily News, Scott Brown wrote that the Affordable Care Act is bad for Massachusetts. He’s wrong. There are many families in Massachusetts and across the country that can’t afford to have politicians use health care as a political football.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) removes the uncertainty that has been ever present for families struggling to pay their health insurance premiums every month who still were afraid that they might not be able to afford a trip to the doctor if one of their children got sick.
I am the married mother of three children, ages 6, 8, and 10, and my oldest was diagnosed with autism three years ago. Health care reform and the ACA mean that my husband and I do not have to battle with the insurance company about the minimum medical services expected to cover for our son’s therapeutic needs.
Health care reform and the ACA mean we will be able to care for our middle child’s asthma without fear that he will be forever labeled as someone with a pre-existing condition too expensive to put on an insurance plan.
Health care reform and the ACA mean that our children’s annual wellness visits do not come with a combined $60 co-pay or that I no longer have to put off getting a mammogram due to worry about the potential cost.
The ACA is good for my family and it is good for families throughout the country who now have access to affordable health care. That is why I am a health care voter in this year’s election. Here in Dorchester, we support the Affordable Care Act!
Charlene Palmer
Richview Street