Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, John’s 22-year-old son remained covered under his insurance, just when they needed it most.

It wasn’t your typical nosebleed.

When John came home from his job as a union tradesman one day in August, his son had a “gusher” of a nosebleed, he says. John immediately saw his son needed to be in the emergency room.

In the ER, they were able to stop the bleeding and sent him to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist near their home near Chicago. It was then that they discovered it was much more than a nosebleed, John says.

When the ENT pulled out the packing in my son’s nose, it was like Niagara Falls of blood. The doctor admitted him to the hospital right then, ordered X-rays and a CT scan, and came by that night to inform us my son had a tumor.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a cancerous tumor — but it was a rare tumor that forms from blood vessels. John says the doctor told them he hadn’t seen this kind of tumor in more than 10 years, and sent them to the top specialist in the area for this type of tumor. That doctor referred them to a super-specialist in Pittsburgh, who said it was the second biggest tumor of its kind he’d ever seen.

“The doctor in Pittsburgh told me it wasn’t long ago that people with this kind of tumor came to the ER and bled out,” John says, which means they bled to death.

In September, a team of surgeons in Pittsburgh removed the tumor. There were follow-ups every two weeks with a specialist closer to their home, and for the next year there will be monthly check-ups to watch for any return of the tumor.

“So far, everything is great,” John says. “He’s happy, he’s healthy and feeling good.”

John doesn’t know what they would have done if his son hadn’t been covered under the insurance he gets through his union. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, children can stay on their parents’ plans until they turn 26, which is why John’s 22-year-old son has insurance while he’s making decisions about his career path, a time in life when many young people have jobs that don’t offer insurance.

This provision was a lifesaver. I’m sure the county hospital where we went to the ER does a great job with gunshots and wounds — they’re a great place and they treat the uninsured — but it’s doubtful they could handle something like my son’s tumor. We would have been screwed without the ACA. I wouldn’t have any idea how I could have paid for my son’s treatment. It’s inconceivable. It’s more money than I’d probably make in a few years, and I make a good living.

John points out that although his insurance premiums have been rising for years, they’ve been increasing more slowly since Obamacare was implemented. So he can’t fathom why President-elect Trump and Congressional Republicans want to take healthcare coverage away from anyone — particularly those with pre-existing conditions.

It’s heartless to turn those people away. To talk about immediately repealing it, it’s just talk for the ignorant.

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Open enrollment for 2017 insurance continues through January 31, 2017. Get covered today at HealthCare.gov.

[Image credit: Michael J, via Flickr]