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Editor’s Note: A PoliticusUSA Perspective from Aaron Lehman

As a financial planner, I have recommended the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) since it was introduced and it has worked well for most of my clients.

Most Republican candidates have been talking about how they are going to save pre-existing conditions. They might try but the damage has already been done by Trump. He took away the individual mandate. Let me explain why keeping pre-existing conditions and getting rid of the mandate is a bad thing.

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The pre-existing conditions clause allows anyone who has health problems the ability to receive health insurance. An example of this is a client I had that lost their job and they have type 2 diabetes. Before the Affordable Care Act I would have had to recommend them a plan that was very expensive and didn’t cover their condition for a year. So someone who has lost a job and does not have very much money has to buy an expensive policy just so they don’t die was something I didn’t like about the current system. With the ACA they could afford the premium and because of the pre-existing clause they are able to afford insurance. So the pre-existing cause is a good thing.

The individual mandate was put in the ACA so everyone has to pay into the system. The system works because both healthy and unhealthy people have to be on the plan. Trump took away the mandate that says everyone has to pay into the system. This means that you can get health insurance if you have cancer but then can drop it after you are in remission.

Let’s say you have cancer and then get health insurance. You are paying $400 a month for insurance. The insurance company pays $100,000 for your treatment and it lasts for 4 months. You would have paid $1600 and the insurance company paid $100,000. This is not a great way to do business and the company would have to raise rates. Let’s say you are paying the same $400 and you have had insurance for a year because it was required. You would have paid the insurance company $4,800 and your treatment still cost $100,000. The company collected more premium and therefore would be better off. Now, let’s say 5 other people pay $400 a month for insurance and they don’t have any health problems. The insurance company will receive $24,000 and they did not have any claims. This is why the mandate is so important.

Trump also took away a “feature” that decreased the deductible, premium, doctor visits, etc. for lower-income individuals and families. They want the ACA to fail and have said so numerous times.

The ACA is not perfect but I have seen clients and everyday families keep their hard earned money because they could now afford health insurance.

Trump and the Republicans will say anything they can to get elected and they really don’t care about the normal person who is living paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford prescriptions, doctor visits, or emergency room visits. They are not for protecting Medicare, Medicaid, the ACA or anything else that the special interests will not make money on.

Healthcare is about people not special interests and Trump and the Republicans are putting money before people’s health. If they really wanted to help, they would fix the parts of the ACA that don’t work and make it better.

Vote as if your life depends on it because, in this election, it does.