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“Hello Ms. Jimenez!” She grimaced when I flipped the light switch but quickly smiled, a sign she just woke up from much-needed slumber that is hard to come by in a busy hospital. This was no ordinary day for Ms. Jimenez; she had delivered her second child the night before, a healthy baby boy born at full term. I congratulated Ms. Jimenez and asked her the standard postpartum questions about breastfeeding, contraception plans and follow-up appointments. Yes, she had an appointment for her son. But she would not be scheduling any for herself.

Ms. Jimenez did not have health insurance. She made enough in wages to not qualify for Medicaid but was unable to afford the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace insurance plans. New Mexico has state funding for medical care for pregnant women, but after delivery people are kicked off. This was especially concerning as her last pap smear suggested a pre-cancerous growth that would require follow-up care.

The Affordable Care Act has improved the lives of over 750,000 New Mexicans by expanding the Medicaid program. But it still leaves 26 million adults uninsured in the United States. While the ACA may have been a step in the right direction, the plan still leaves too many without any insurance, has permitted skyrocketing deductibles and premiums, and ignores outrageous drug prices. Ultimately, it falls short of providing affordable, comprehensive, universal health insurance.

The American Health Care Act just released by Republicans will only further disrupt America’s already tenuous health care by downsizing Medicaid benefits for millions of low-income families, reducing premium and out-of-pocket subsidies for poor and middle-income Americans and giving tax breaks to only the wealthiest individuals and ultimately hurting affordable health care access for the low and middle classes.

The ACA is not doing enough for Americans. And the AHCA is a clear assertion by Republicans that affordable health care is not a priority.

We need a real solution that provides affordable, comprehensive health care for all Americans from birth until death. And we need those on the front line of the health care system to stand up and demand it.

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In honor of patients like Ms. Jimenez, I flew to Philadelphia on March 11 and joined hundreds of other health professional students from across the country in attending the Students for a National Health Program summit at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. This student-organized event featured speakers from grass-roots Philadelphia organizations whose missions include health care as a human right. I heard from organizers who work tirelessly to connect the uninsured to free or reduced-cost health clinics. I heard from union members who described their bargaining efforts to retain affordable health insurance benefits. I heard from members of Put People First!-PA who described how their continued pressure on the State Insurance Department led to the first-ever public hearing on rising health insurance premiums.

From New Mexico patients to community members in Philadelphia, the evidence is clear: The private health insurance industry, the only beneficiary of the proposed AHCA plan, will continue dictating who receives health care and who does not. And they will continue doing so until Americans stand up and say, “Enough is enough.”

Students across the country are building the movement for improved and expanded Medicare for All, a national health program that would cover all Americans, cut waste and provide excellent care. Backed by community members and congressional leaders across the country, it may be the treatment our country’s health system needs. A Medicare for All health insurance system would give New Mexicans an opportunity to see a doctor without having to ration their grocery budget for the month.

I look forward to practicing medicine in a health system where I can ask patients like Ms. Jimenez standard postpartum questions and know my patients will have follow-up appointments and the medical care they need. I am committed to making this system a reality.