Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Seniors Share Why Biden-Harris Plan to Protect and Strengthen the ACA will Save Lives
Arizona Seniors: “We Need to Make It Easier…Not Harder” to Access Health Care
Across Arizona, seniors and their families face challenges to secure reliable health care coverage. Because Donald Trump will stop at nothing to strip away protections from more than 2.8 million Arizonans living with preexisting conditions, it is more important than ever to make sure all Arizonans can afford the health care they need.
In a virtual roundtable this week, Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Arizona seniors discussed some of the critical issues surrounding health care in the upcoming election. Participants — who each have unique experiences navigating the health care system as advocates, program administrators, and beneficiaries — talked about why we need leaders like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to strengthen and expand protections for our seniors, their children, and their grandchildren.
The Biden-Harris Plan for Older Americans not only protects and strengthens the Affordable Care Act, but also helps middle-class families grow their savings so they can get the dignified retirement they deserve.
Senator Sinema emphasized how important it is to ensure that the next president has a real plan to fortify the Affordable Care Act — especially when complications from COVID-19 could become the next deniable preexisting condition — and that Arizonans make their voices heard this November.
“We made a promise to all Arizonans that hard work would allow them to retire with dignity,” said Senator Sinema. “I support Joe Biden because he’s committed to protecting Social Security, Medicare, and the benefits that Arizonans have worked so hard to earn. He’s committed just like I am to helping everyday families get ahead, and together, we’ll ensure that these critical programs are around for you, your children, and your grandchildren.”
Will Humble, former director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, moderated the conversation and talked about how the Affordable Care Act put his family’s minds at ease when it came to covering their children.
“One of my kids, Luke, is 26, and he’s got Down syndrome. Before the Affordable Care Act he was 16, and he was covered under our group plan, but now he’s 26 and the only reason that we’re able to keep him on our group health insurance is because [of] the Affordable Care Act,” Humble said. “Luke really depends on us…we rely on a lot of things on the Affordable Care Act, but that’s the most important one to me.”
Linda Brown, a former Affordable Care Act Navigator, shared powerful stories about the countless people she has helped secure reliable health care coverage, and emphasized why it’s so critical we ensure protections for them and others living with preexisting conditions.
“As a Navigator, almost everybody who came to me came because they had preexisting conditions, and by the time we figured out what plan was best for them, and they were covered, they were in tears. It was almost universal, because people hadn’t been able to go to the doctor, they hadn’t been able to afford their insulin, their asthma medications, and even their cancer medications. And finally they were going to be able to afford it,” Brown said. “We have to do everything we can to make sure that we not only protect what we’ve got, but expand it.”
Lupe Solis, former AARP Arizona Associate State Director of Advocacy, talked about friends and family who have struggled under the weight of burdensome health care costs, and how the next administration needs to put quality and accessible coverage at the forefront of their policy agenda.
“I do hear from people and from friends and family who have experienced [surprise billing], who have had to go to a hospital and have to find out nine months later or a year later that they owe $8,000 or $12,000 for one transport to the hospital…and also for many of them their medical supplies aren’t covered. We need to make it easier for people to access health care, not harder,” Solis said. “We need to support anyone who will work hard to continue to protect them and improve them as they need to be…I’m looking forward to an administration that can and will do what’s necessary.”
Vic Peterson, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, spoke to the difficulties veterans face when they try to secure the coverage, medications, and treatment they need to recover from their time in service.
“My brother, he does use the VA all the time for his health care issues, and he’s had an injury that happened back when he was in the military. And he’s tried for the last seven years to get an increase in his disability. One of the biggest issues with veterans is trying to prove you have this issue, it stems back from when you were in the military…it’s a long, long, long process, and it hasn’t really gotten any better,” Peterson said. “And more and more people are having issues with the price of these prescription medications that as it keeps going up and up and up, the decision to make to either buy medications or put food on the table, and that’s something that we’ve got to keep addressing.”
To join important discussions like this one, visit https://www.mobilize.us/joebiden/.
The deadline to register to vote in Arizona is October 5, and the last day to request a mail-in ballot is October 23. Early voting begins in the state October 7. Make a safe and secure plan to vote by visiting IWillVote.com or VoyAvotar.com.
