His cancer may be in remission, but 20-year-old James Weitzel said Sunday his future is as uncertain as ever as lawmakers in Congress work to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Weitzel, a graduate of Chatham Glenwood High School, was one of at least 30 people who gathered Sunday in Springfield at the Service Employees International Union office at 701 S. Second St. to protest the repeal of the national health care legislation.

Weitzel said he was diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma in August and is worried he would be dropped from his parent's insurance plan and not be covered by a future employer because of his pre-existing condition, if the law were repealed.

Under the Affordable Care Act, children are allowed to stay on their parents' plan until the age of 26, and health insurance companies can't refuse to cover someone or charge more because of a pre-existing condition.

Some Republicans in Congress have argued to keep both provisions in a replacement plan.

“I love my parents, and I know they are very dedicated to me and want to take care of me,” said Weitzel, who noted his medical bills have reached $660,000.

“Even if I say no, they will pay for bills that will be extraordinary. I do not want them to have to face that burden.”

Organizers of Sunday’s event said the repeal of the Affordable Care Act would cause 1.2 million Illinoisans to lose health insurance.

Scott Cross, chapter lead in Springfield for Organizing for Action, noted the effect would be much worse because Medicaid coverage was expanded significantly under the Affordable Care Act.

“This whole thing is profoundly upsetting and profoundly personal to me,” Cross said. “The only thing it does is advance a political agenda.”

Cross encouraged health care supporters Sunday to contact U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis and Darin LaHood, both Republicans who favor a repeal.

Davis on Friday spoke on the House floor and declared "Obamacare is not working.”

His remarks came as House Republicans approved a budget plan that takes the first step toward abolishing the Affordable Care Act, President Obama's signature law.

In his remarks Friday, Davis said the average cost increase for ACA plans in Illinois was between 45 percent and 55 percent.

He said he supports a replacement plan that would cover pre-existing conditions, noting his wife is a cancer survivor.

Several people got emotional Sunday as they pleaded for the Affordable Care Act to remain intact.

Trina Diedrich, 49, of Springfield said she worries her insurance coverage would worsen if the law were repealed because she has a pre-existing condition.

Years ago, she said, she was in out and out of drug addiction and mental health facilities as she worked to get her life back together.

One of the factors that helped her pull through and remain sober the past 24 years was having quality health care that paid for her treatment, said Diedrich, who works for the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Diedrich added not providing treatment at a time when the nation faces an opioid epidemic could be devastating.

“The Affordable Care Act saves lives every single day,” she said.

Also in attendance Sunday was Careyana Brenham, a local family physician who said she works at a federally qualified health center. She declined to be more specific.

Brenham said, since the Affordable Care Act went into effect, she’s seen an increase of school bus drivers, waitresses, house cleaners and other workers who avoided the doctor’s office because they couldn’t afford treatment.

She also worried that many of her female patients wouldn’t be able to afford birth control and other prenatal care if the law were repealed.

“The law allowed me to better help people,” Brenham said.

— Contact Jason Nevel: 788-1521, jason.nevel @sj-r.com, twitter.com/JasonNevelSJR.