Sen. Heller, say no to ACA repeal

By Dr. Keith Brill, M.D., Henderson

Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 | 2 a.m.

One of Congress’ first orders of business in 2017 is an attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the landmark health insurance program that has provided enormous benefits for millions of women. As an OB-GYN, I am calling on Sen. Dean Heller to take it from me: Undoing the ACA would be devastating to my patients, Nevada’s women.

Before the ACA, women could be denied coverage because they were victims of domestic violence or had previously had a C-section. Before the ACA, women were routinely denied, delayed or limited when seeking affordable, comprehensive maternity coverage. Before the ACA, women could even be charged higher premiums than men for identical coverage.

The ACA has made tremendous strides to expand coverage for women by fixing these problems.

Now, 455,665 women in Nevada have no cost-sharing for preventive services such as gynecological cancer screenings and contraception, 329,000 have benefited from the ACA’s prohibition on lifetime limits on health benefits. About 857,000 Nevada women have health insurance coverage. Do we want to put those citizens in jeopardy?

I know because I see it every day — the ACA has changed my patients’ lives for the better. It couldn’t be clearer: The ACA is an investment in the health of women, families and our state. I hope that this January, Sen. Heller will protect these investments and his constituents by voting no on ACA repeal.

The writer is chairman of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Nevada Section