[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 844]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               MICHIGANDERS CONCERNED OVER REPEAL OF ACA

  (Mrs. DINGELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, last weekend, I held a roundtable 
discussion in my district with healthcare providers, hospitals, 
doctors, nurses, clinics, labor leaders, and working families to talk 
about what the Affordable Care Act means to them. All of them are 
opposed and concerned for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
  We talked about how important it was to protect the 695,000 
Michiganders who have gained coverage since the ACA was enacted and the 
fact that the uninsured rate in Michigan has been cut in half.
  The story that struck me the most was from a local clergyman, Bishop 
Walter Starghill, who gained coverage for the first time through 
Medicaid expansion. He told me:

       The impact on Black men with increased access to insurance 
     coverage is big. We didn't take care of ourselves until it 
     was too late. We ended up in the emergency room and some of 
     us died. Now we can get checked out early.

  I heard from another local UAW worker who said:

       I come from a family where many members have struggled with 
     cancer. We wouldn't have healthcare coverage after leaving 
     our jobs or we'd have gone bankrupt without the ACA.

  Everywhere I go in the district, people are frightened and come up 
and say: What will happen?
  Tomorrow, you need to look people in the eye and tell them why you 
are taking their insurance away.

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