From INDIVISIBLE DISTRICT 5
A new community group called Indivisible District 5 is calling on Congressman Bob Latta to hold a public forum with his constituents about his recent vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act — a plan that will lead to nearly one million Ohioans losing their health coverage.
Eight members of Indivisible District 5—from Bowling Green, Findlay, and Cygnet—met with Latta’s district director yesterday afternoon at his district office in Bowling Green to share their stories about how the Affordable Care Act has benefitted them and their families and to advocate for the millions of Ohioans who received coverage for the first time, have access to free preventive care, and receive help paying their premiums based on their incomes.
“Latta’s staff listened to our stories and the facts we presented and promised to share them with the congressman. But we really need to hear from Latta first-hand about why he is voting to hurt hundreds of thousands of Ohioans,” said Melissa Wynemia Kritzell, a founding member of Indivisible District 5. “Although we learned that Latta intends to hold tele-townhalls in the coming months, we do not know whether that will happen before the next vote to rip away health coverage from thousands of his constituents.”
“We agree with Governor John Kasich, who wants to know what will happen to the 700,000 Ohioans who have gotten covered under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. Unfortunately, we have received only platitudes, but no plan from Congressman Latta,” said Becca Klaver, a visiting professor at Bowling Green State University who was able to come to Ohio in part because she could get insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s individual marketplace. But, she added, “I am far more concerned about those workers, in Wood County and around the country, who are cobbling together several part-time hourly wage jobs, none of them providing benefits, than I am about my own position.”
According to an Urban Institute study, 964,000 Ohioans will lose their health coverage if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.
