UPDATE: At march in Warren, forum in Youngstown, participants pan move to repeal Obamacare
Staff report
Whether they peacefully marched near one of the Mahoning Valley’s major hospitals or sat around a table and talked, participants’ worries were the same: Repealing the Affordable Care Act without offering a replacement will be detrimental to millions of Americans.
“I was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago with ALS. It has a lifespan of two to five years. If it wasn’t for Medicare and other provisions, my family would be bankrupt,” a tearful Christine Terlesky explained during a 90-minute roundtable discussion Sunday afternoon at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, which was led by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Cleveland, D-Ohio. “It’s very cavalier to take away benefits from those who need them.”
Terlesky, 43, a former Boardman High School government teacher, was diagnosed in October 2013 with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative condition that affects nerve cells in the spinal column and brain. She shared her emotional story with several dozen patients as well as a variety of medical, dental and mental-health professionals at the gathering.
Preceding the roundtable discussion was a march Sunday outside of Trumbull Memorial Hospital in Warren to call attention to what participants see as the need to protect people’s health care coverage and stand against proposed cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. Both events were part of a National Day of Action under the monikers “Don’t Make America Sick Again” and “Our First Stand: Save Health Care.”
Taking part in the march were the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative and the Ohio Women’s Action Network, along with numerous community members and advocates, faith leaders and others.
One of the estimated 100 people who marched was Raymond Vershum of Canfield, who recalled that a neighbor died in her 50s about eight years ago from an asthma attack before passage of the ACA, also known as “Obamacare,” and because she was unable to afford health insurance due to a pre-existing condition. As a result, she did not visit the emergency room to receive treatment, he said.
Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com