Healthcare bill puts a generation at stake

Theres something that bonds the daughters of mothers who have stared down cancer. Maybe its best characterized as resiliency, gratitude, and a constant quiet fear that a few years down the line well end up in that same hospital bed.

I sat across from a good friend a few weeks ago whose mother also won her battle with cancer. I think Im going to put off the testing, she said. I know its better to know but with everything up in the air Im just not sure. Genetic testing can help us get ahead of a likely battle and take increased measures to stop cancer in its tracks, but like too many of us, my friend decided she couldnt risk the black mark of a pre-existing condition on her medical records right now with Congress maneuvering to tear essential healthcare away from millions of Americans.

As weve marched, organized, prayed and protested during the past weeks and months, Ive had this conversation with friends too many times to count. The impact of Congress healthcare bill could have a devastating effect on our lives.

Ive sat with friends returning from tours of service in Iraq, grateful to be back on home soil and ready to buy that home, or plan that wedding but theyre haunted by visible and invisible wounds of war and worried their treatment could be jeopardized.

Ive marched alongside dear friends celebrating the right to marry the love of their life, and held their hands as they confided that theyre terrified bad healthcare policy would put fertility treatments and their dream of starting a family out of reach and for those pregnant already theyre terrified cuts to essential services could put the health of their baby at risk.

Ive been a confidant to friends quietly battling opioid addition, trying to win an uphill battle with a disease threatening to claim their lives and their dignity. If that battle wasnt hard enough, the latest healthcare bill has reinforced the damaging stigma around addiction and threatened to slash desperately needed access to recovery treatment.

Ive stood shoulder to shoulder with survivors of sexual assault who relive their trauma every time breaking news flashes that their assault could now become a pre-existing condition and they put off reporting or the counseling that could serve as a lifeline.

Sitting on the edge of our 20s and 30s, friends are striving to put down roots, start families, and build their lives. Its never been clearer that access to affordable healthcare is a critical piece of the illusive American Dream that were chasing.

Healthcare is complicated. Healthcare crises remind us how vulnerable we are and magnify that our lives can get caught up in systems that feel a million miles away from our own reality around our dinner tables. Bad healthcare policy, like the cruel provisions of the Better Care Reconciliation Act, undercut everything we believe in as Americans. This is a nation characterized by families who have crossed oceans with nothing and built lives from the ground up. A nation that believes in our most challenging and dire moments, we need to have our neighbors backs and give folks a chance to build a life. A nation where no one should go broke because they get sick or be denied life saving healthcare because theyve been sick before.

Theres been a lot written about what makes my generation different. At our core, I think were all striving to live out some version of the American Dream just like our parents and grandparents before us. Sure were up against some unique circumstances hefty student debt to start - but were all just striving to try to make a living, own a home, maybe build a family and contribute to our communities.

The Better Care Reconciliation Act puts that all in jeopardy.

This bill would jeopardize access to healthcare for millions and strip way essential coverage. Without a doubt we are not the only generation with our livelihood at stake - 22 million Americans could lose coverage if the Senate bill passes - seniors, families with children with disabilities, folks approaching retirement the consequences could be incredibly dire for all of us.

In moments like this, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, it is easy to feel that the efforts in Washington to tear away our healthcare are far out of reach. But Im reminded of the resilience of my grandmother, who at 26 found herself widowed, her husband killed at war, and raised a son battling Polio. Im reminded of my incredible mom who never gave up on her battle with cancer for a moment, and fought for her life gracefully and bravely.

We are a generation built by generations of hope, generations committed to fighting for us to have full lives where we didnt have to worry about putting food on the table or starring down illnesses penniless. Generations that fought for compassionate policies like the Affordable Care Act that werent flawless but moved us towards the promise of folks not going bankrupt because they get sick.

In the lead up to the Thursday health care vote Ill be fighting along side you. Weve got generations of hope on our side and the livelihood of our whole generation at stake.

Lets demand that this devastating bill fails. Lets demand that Democrats and Republicans work together on real, compassionate health care policy that builds on the lifesaving provisions of the ACA.

Lets show Congress what its like to have each others backs.