To the editor:

How would you feel if you were forced to watch a family member grow sicker and sicker and be unable to do anything about it, simply because they cannot afford health insurance? With the current administration’s plan to repeal the ACA (Affordable Care Act) while putting forth no structure to replace it, America may once again become the land of the sick. The government should focus on taking care of its citizens health and treating healthcare as a service – not a profitable industry.

Mr. Trump needs to consider carefully what repealing the ACA will do. It will force America back into an era of shame. It is shameful that just a few years ago, people with pre-existing conditions could not receive health care. It is shameful that college students had to choose between getting a sprained ankle looked at or paying their tuition. It is shameful that before the ACA, the United States of America was the only industrialized nation in the world that did not provide its citizens with universal healthcare.

I ask that every citizen, every human who believes that being healthy is a right and not a privilege, to contact their representatives. Even if you don’t approve of the ACA, urge your representatives to come up with a viable replacement. Otherwise, the 20 million Americans currently depending on the ACA hang in the balance.

The greatest threats to American lives right now does not come from outside our borders. They come from within.

AILA IKUSE

Bainbridge Island