Women’s group rallies behind the Affordable Care Act in appeal to congressman

Wanting their voices heard, representatives of a recently organized women’s group dropped in Friday on U.S. Congressman’s Austin Scott’s office in Warner Robins.

Seven women from Georgia Women and All Those Who Support Us, and a man who’d heard about their cause and wanted to join them, first met outside the office to talk about their concerns.

The day’s priority was to express support of the Affordable Care Act.

“This is a game of power, and by calling it Obamacare, they’re putting the name of the act with the man and not with the plan,” said group member Lynn Snyder.

“The plan is affordable care, and what we really want is to make sure that everyone is covered, and repealing it isn’t going to guarantee that tomorrow that will happen,” she said.

Carol O’Regan said billions of dollars will be wasted on repealing the act, while the number of those uninsured will grow significantly.

Tracie Jenkins said the strong points of the act need to be remembered.

“If you have a pre-existing condition, you can get health care,” Jenkins noted. “If you have children in college or that are trying to find their way and they’re 26, they can still be on your health care plan.”

Group members said they don’t understand why the act cannot be revised, and urged congressional lawmakers to work across party lines.

“The issue isn’t the Republicans get their way or the Democrats get their way,” Snyder said. “The issue is that these are real people with real health problems who could die because they’re just playing games.”

Snyder said she knows a 61-year-old woman who takes injections that cost $75,000 a year for an illness. The woman pays $3,000 out of pocket.

“If she can’t get coverage because of her pre-existing condition, she’ll die,” Snyder said.

Scott, who supports repealing the act, was in Washington, D.C., when the group dropped in at his Warner Robins office.

Donovan Head, a field representative for Scott, agreed to meet with four group members in a conference room behind closed doors. Others remained in the lobby and wrote down their concerns.

“Everybody’s comments will be heard,” Head told the group. “I’ll be happy to get these to the congressman.”

After the meeting, Snyder said she felt that the group had accomplished its goal of being heard.

“I always welcome feedback from my constituents and encourage engagement on issues that matter to them, no matter if we disagree or agree,” Scott said in the statement. “My staff and I make a concerted effort to listen to and answer everyone who contacts us.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Women’s group rallies behind the Affordable Care Act in appeal to congressman."