Washington, D.C. — A new video relays the challenges of Lea Grover’s family in Cary, Illinois. Her husband reached the lifetime limit on coverage allowed by his health care provider shortly after beginning treatment for stage 4 glioblastoma—the most aggressive type of brain cancer. Because of the lifetime limits, Grover’s family was forced to shoulder the costs of his treatment, which, unsurprisingly, quickly became unmanageable. Her husband continued working while undergoing chemotherapy, so that he and his three daughters—who also have pre-existing conditions—would not lose their health care. This was their reality before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed, which barred insurance providers from using lifetime limits and discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions. Grover believes her representative, Peter Roskam’s (R-IL), vote to weaken the ACA and pre-existing condition protections puts families like hers at risk and is largely driven by the fact that members of Congress do not have to worry about their families’ health care.
Watch the video on Twitter.
Watch the video on YouTube.
As Grover states in the video, “Peter Roskam, my representative, his health care is top notch. If he gets sick, he gets to see a doctor. If he gets cancer, he gets treatment. If one of his children is sick, severely sick, he’s not going to have to go bankrupt trying to keep them in treatment. He is very fortunate, and he seems to believe that is not something his constituents, in his district, who he represents, deserve.”
The video is part of an ongoing effort by the Center for American Progress Action Fund to provide a platform for real Americans who are being negatively affected by the GOP’s donor-driven agenda.
Unfortunately, this story is familiar to many Illinoisans. According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, 322,200 people in Illinois’ 6th district of working age live with pre-existing conditions. Without the Affordable Care Act and its protections on pre-existing conditions, many families like Grover’s are at constant risk of losing their health care, due to the continued Republican-led sabotage of the ACA.
Rep. Roskam has long promised to repeal Obamacare and voted to do so nine times. As part of the congressional Republican tax bill, he voted to repeal the individual mandate, which will likely cause premiums to be as much as $1,211 higher than they otherwise would be for Illinoisans. According to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, if the ACA is repealed in the future, nearly 710,200 Illinoisans will lose health care and pre-existing condition protections.
For more information on this topic or to talk to an expert, please contact Jesse Lee at [email protected] or 202.741.6350.
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The Center for American Progress Action Fund is the sister advocacy organization of the Center for American Progress. The Action Fund transforms progressive ideas into policy through rapid response communications, legislative action, grassroots organizing and advocacy, and partnerships with other progressive leaders throughout the country and the world. The Action Fund is also the home of the Progress Report.