The president did it again on Sept. 29, during his tantrum on the debate stage. For the umpteenth time, he promised the American people the best, cheapest, most comprehensive replacement for the ACA (Obamacare) in the history of mankind. So where’s this plan, and where has it been this past 10 years? To be fair, it’s not just him. The GOP has done nothing to replace it and everything to kill it since 2010. We have nothing but the remains of scores of repeal bills; public option bills that have died of suffocation on Mitch McConnell’s desk; and court cases galore.

Even now, when millions of people have lost employer-based health insurance due to the COVID19 pandemic, there is a case due in the Supreme Court just days after the election. A dozen GOP governors have banded together to argue that the ACA should be repealed. Their reasons, as always, are vague, especially since it has solid public support. Meanwhile, instead of bringing urgently needed COVID19 relief bills to the Senate floor – bills passed months ago by the House of Representatives – Mitch McConnell is hustling a Supreme Court nominee through the hearing process who’s on record as opposing the ACA. This decision could end access to health care for millions of Americans, at the very time we need it most.

We don’t use the ACA insurance exchange, but we, like millions of Americans, do benefit from its mandate that insurance companies may not deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. As retired people, we understand that pre-existing conditions naturally accumulate as we age. I personally have been treated for melanoma, thyroid disease, hip dysplasia, a voice disorder, and I was squashed by a tree, which caused back, neck, and skull injuries. We definitely appreciate Medicare, but it doesn’t cover everything. Without the ACA, we will have to rely on the tender mercies of health care profiteers, and our supplemental plan insurance company could easily find a dozen excuses to deny me coverage or charge us financially ruinous fees. This is not an idle concern: historically, health care costs are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S.

The GOP is the Lucy VanPelt of health care, promising that this time, they won’t pull that football away. Let’s not continue to act like good old, gullible old Charlie Brown. Because the GOP has no plan, the only remedy is to send them home this Nov. 3. We need to elect a President who actually worked to expand accessible health care. That is Joe Biden. And to make sure the Senate can no longer block the will of the people on this and many other issues, we need to support Senator Shaheen, and urge our friends and relatives in other states to support their Democratic nominees. Obamacare is far from perfect, but access to affordable care should be expanded and improved, not repealed, and the Democrats are ready to get to work.

Jean Lewandowski is a resident of Nashua.

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