Health care is a fundamental right

I hold the opinion that health care is meant to be a fundamental right of a developed country such as the U.S.  I am a nurse practitioner and have spent my career trying to improve the health of others, particularly the lower income sector. A fundamental right can be debated, but no one can deny a healthy population is required to have a productive robust economy, as well as improved quality of life and productivity. This should be available to all regardless of income, race, gender identity or color.   

Yet here we are going backward ultimately robbing the working families/individuals of the ability to tread water let alone try to get ahead. 

In our very own county, we are fortunate enough to have a hospital. Reduced funding threatens the future of such and we need to think long and hard about electing individuals who are working against the very needs of their constituents. 

We now have a candidate who is from St. Regis who is willing to fight for us and not a political action committee.  Who doesn’t see red or blue, but sees people in need of a voice to assist in lifting them up out of the economic perils present everywhere in this county and state. 

We now have a political candidate running for U.S. House of Representatives District 1 who has seen all too painfully the horrors of health care traps that threatened the lives of loved ones and of one’s ability to stay afloat.   

Russ Cleveland is that candidate who offers to be the voice of all with a passion to improve healthcare among many other issues affecting us all as Montanans. 

So how did we get here with our health care as a country?  How did it come to this? 

Prior to the Affordable Care Act, we had individual health insurance which was often less comprehensive and heavily reliant on medical underwriting, meaning insurers could deny coverage or charge much higher premiums based on pre-existing conditions.  This resulted in limited benefits, high out-of-pocket costs and significant gaps in coverage for many Americans.   

Affordable Care Act originated from President Barack Obama’s push for health care reform, aiming to expand coverage, lower costs and improve quality, building on ideas from conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and former Speaker Newt Gingrich. During that era, similar concepts were implemented in Massachusetts under Governor Mitt Romney influencing the national debate. 

So what are the core components of ACA? 

Insurance Exchanges/Marketplaces which provide online platforms for individuals to buy insurance. 

Subsidies: Tax credits to help lower-income individuals afford coverage. 

Medicaid Expansion: Extended coverage to more low-income adults (though most red states opted out because of GOP propaganda and weaponization. 

Protections: Banned denial for pre-existing conditions, allowed young adults on parents’ plans until 26, and set standards for coverage. 

Individual Mandate: Required most Americans to have insurance or pay a penalty (later reduced to $0) 

And where did the money come from for ACA?  It came from new taxes on high earners, increased number of members in the pool, insurers and specific industries, Medicare savings from reduced provider payments and other revenue streams, designed to be budget-neutral by offsetting costs with new revenue and efficiency savings, funding subsidies for individuals and Medicaid expansion. 

But ACA became just another GOP weaponization tool in MAGA efforts to build a political base that would allow GOP to push through increasingly authoritarian policies all clearly outlined in Project 2025.  Another political weapon not unlike propaganda based on imaginary problems such as threats to gun ownership, transgender athletes, literature, public education to name a few.  The propaganda machine ran strong and hard throughout political and social circles.   

ACA was bad and if you were a true patriot, you would stand against a program wrongfully linked to the radical left. Red state by red state by red state refused free health care for their people (Medicaid Expansion). The pool of people expected to provide the necessary funding for the program was cutting into the financial sauce that was to support ACA.    

Even at its worst, ACA has increased access to health care by around 15% increase.  We continue to need health care overhaul.  ACA was a good start but not the complete answer and never was meant to be the end all, but a starting point. 

The majority of Americans don’t even know the history of ACA or its principles. The majority of Americans don’t even know about the successes that over 30 countries in the world have with their single-payer health care systems or hybrid systems. It is bad enough we aren’t moving forward but we are going backward.  Not even staying up with the poorer countries globally. 

Supporting and getting Russ Cleveland elected is one thing we all can do to start fighting for, what I believe is a fundamental right, such as health care. He cares because he is one of us and has been through the worst of times dealing with insurance companies to save a loved one.   

Help support Russ Cleveland US House Representative for District 1 Montana. Democrat, Independent or Republican, we need to start electing leaders who will listen and for the people and all of the people.

- Jean Rohrer, St. Regis