Repeal of Affordable Care Act is Politics Playing with the Wellbeing of Americans
Jess Guh, MD
It’s the weekend after Thanksgiving and, for once, I’m not scheduled to work at the hospital. Yet, on Friday evening I found myself fastening my badge to my clothes and walking into the Intensive Care Unit.
One of my most beloved patients, Ms. Chhem is passing away. I’ve come to say goodbye. It’s not a complete surprise as she’s had serious chronic medical issues for years, but after being part of her care team for a countless number of prior hospitalizations, it’s hard to believe that this will be her last.
When I first met her five years ago, I was shocked at the number of hospitalizations she had survived. Her chart identified her as a refugee from Cambodia with significant psychological trauma, two kinds of hepatitis from poor healthcare, and end-stage kidney disease requiring dialysis three times a week. She had low health literacy, few resources and didn’t speak English. I was terrified to be the young doctor in charge of coordinating her care and keeping track of all the pieces that inevitably get lost in our complex medical system.
Of course, in real life, she was nothing like the chronically ill patient her chart suggested. Despite the physical and emotional trauma her life had brought, she was always upbeat, laughing, and ready to experience life’s next moment. Or perhaps it was because of that trauma that she learned that this was the only way to cope.
During our visits her delightful pragmatism grounded me in what otherwise seemed like an impossibly chaotic healthcare plan. Our last visit had only been only 72 hours ago. As I walked into the exam room she had erupted into laughter, jumped up, and grabbed my hands with both of hers in greeting. It was a relaxed visit. Ironically, for once I was feeling good about her medical care. All of the loose ends I had been trying to resolve had recently been tied up.
Protestors in Washington the first time the ACA was challenged
So despite being familiar with intubated patients, it was jarring to see Ms. Chhem, the same woman who just a few days ago was relating to me the hilarity of coping with recently misplaced dentures, as a patient, intubated, sedated, and surrounded by machines and IV drips. Death doesn’t impact me the way it used to when I first became a doctor, but I still choked up as I held her hand and said goodbye.
As I walked home, I reflected on how, despite all the obstacles, she had received top quality medical care in her lifetime. For Ms. Chhem, medicine did exactly what it was supposed to do: prolong and improve health to allow patients to lead more fulfilling lives.
And then my thoughts darkened. What would happen to my patients if the Affordable Care Act is repealed?
I fear its repeal. As a queer person, I fear its repeal even more than a repeal of same-sex marriage.
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Doc…Regardless if they don’t repeal and put another plan in place to fix healthcare Obamacare is slated for bankruptcy. Fear not as your patient received a lifetime of good healthcare, and the truth be known, access to it was better before the Obama health care act falsely claimed it was better. I know a few Doc’s too. Many more services and helpful treatments were not available after the healthcare act was put in play for the many. This patient you are just holding the hand of while you await her death, well for those who really do have access to good healthcare not confined to the insurance made available to your patient, might find they would be cured. But then you are not in the loop of what a good healthcare plan really does include. Hopefully, it will resurface again for the many, when it won’t be cannibalized by government regulations and political agenda’s.
Another FAKE NEWS article, obumacare sucks and you cannot hide that FACT!