General Discussion

Without the ACA people with chronic illnesses will be unable to get health insurance period, absent employment which includes health care (and remember, it is optional, without the ACA), Medicare, or Medicaid. And many people with chronic illnesses are unable to hold down jobs because of the impact of the illness, even if they are not disabled enough to qualify for Medicaid.

My daughter who has been working at Amazon slinging boxes received a promotion to a less physical job but which requires her to climb 4 flights of stairs. She just requested an accommodation because the anemia, which accompanies her multiple chronic health conditions, makes it nearly impossible for her to climb the stairs without being winded and needing time to recover before starting the day's work. She has billed health charges exceeding $200,000 each and every year, and is currently fighting with her insurance company because the generic version of the only medication ever able to keep her in remission has been discontinued - but the insurance company has refused to pay for the brand name because it is the generic one on the formulary. Because she is unable to obtain her medication, she is coming out of remission, and is expecting to be hospitalized again.

She is not impaired enough to qualify for disability/Medicaid - but hospitalization means she is off work (and not bringing in money) - and at risk for losing her job, falling farther and farther behind on her bills, etc.

It's a vicious cycle.

But access to health insurance (generally) is far more important than annual caps on care, both of which will vanish with the ACA, if it is terminated.