More than 20 people showed up at U.S. Representative Trent Kelly’s Columbus office at noon Friday to let the representative know they oppose repealing the Affordable Care Act.
Twenty-one people left their names and phone numbers with Kelly’s Columbus field representative, Anna Lisa Roberts, who arrived to meet the group about an hour later. The group, who are all members of the community group Columbus Action Together, said they wanted to make an appointment to have a town hall-style meeting with Kelly to talk about Kelly’s plans for healthcare.
“This was just to make an appointment to have a face-to-face meeting, and it makes an impression to have a strong group show up … rather than just individuals,” said group member Bridget Smith Pieschel, who passed around the sign-in sheet which was left at Kelly’s office.
She added the group did not expect to see Kelly when Congress is in session.
“We’d like to sit down and speak with someone who represents us,” said Melissa Cooper, one of the organizers of Columbus Action Together. “(And say) ‘Are you aware of how this will affect (people)?”
She said she particularly wants to know what the Affordable Care Act will be replaced with, if anything, that will help people get affordable healthcare.
Kelly has been at a conference with other Republicans in Philadelphia and was unable to talk to The Dispatch by press time, according to Susan Parker, the communications director at Kelly’s Tupelo office.
“Constituents have been complaining about the Affordable Care Act since it became law,” he said according to an email from Parker. “That’s why we in Congress are making it a top priority to solve the problems in healthcare.”
However Paul Howell, the District Director of Kelly’s Tupelo office, spoke with Smith Pieschel on the phone for about 45 minutes Friday afternoon after the group left the office, Smith Pieschel said. Howell told Smith Pieschel he could not promise when the group would be able to meet with Kelly.
Kelly has been vocal in his opposition to the Affordable Care Act.
“Obamacare just hasn’t worked, and this misguided law needs to be repealed,” he wrote in an opinion editorial to the media.
He wrote the cost of insurance and premiums have continued to rise while access to doctors has fallen.
“Families across our state are living with the uncertainty that their monthly rates will increase, or worse, that their health insurance company will just pull out of the market altogether,” he wrote. “For individuals who have been forced to buy coverage, it’s often insurance in name only. A plan with a $6,000 deductible is hardly affordable, meaningful healthcare.”
But those who showed up at Kelly’s office have a different view.
Columbus resident Rachel Gamache, 58, lost her pharmacist job last year and moved to Columbus. She signed up for the Affordable Care Act, which enables her and her husband to live on about an $18,000 income which her husband gets through Social Security. Having insurance through the Affordable Care Act has tied her over while she waits for a job opening in her field.
“He’s on Social Security and MediCare,” she said. “And I got the Affordable Care Act for about $80 per month. … It’s been really helpful. We live comfortably with the amount of money we have.”
Healthcare is not the only issue members of Columbus Action Together are concerned with, Cooper said. The group, which formed after the election in opposition to many of President Donald Trump’s Republican platforms, is also concerned with LGBT rights, education, promoting women in government, improving access to voter registration and safeguarding community services that provide relief for homelessness, mental health, substance abuse treatment and domestic violence.
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