The Affordable Care Act made it possible for Inge Hafkemeyer to start her own event planning business. It hasn't been all roses for her.
"It worked for me for the first two years but then I earned too much money being on my own, being an independent contractor so basically I was no longer able to get subsidies," Hafkemeyer said.
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With just one option in Kansas for Blue Cross Blue Shield, her premiums went up but her deductible went down.
Hafkemeyer recognizes she's more fortunate than many who use the ACA for health insurance, so she's concerned about the American Health Care Act.
"For just us regular people, it pulls people off the insurance and makes it totally unaffordable for them," Hafkemeyer stressed.
She's worried about Medicare not being there when she becomes eligible and insurance companies being able to charge older people five times more than younger ones.
"It's just very sad to see what we've come to," she shared. "To cut people off, it's just not right."
Dr. Sharon Lee, CEO of Southwest Boulevard Family Health Care, thinks the American Health Care Act is problematic too. "It's a disaster and I'll tell you my biggest concern is that there are going to be people who die because of this," Lee said.
Her clinic sees low-income and uninsured patients in Kansas City, Kansas.
Lee is concerned, "Especially because the subsidies that have been available through the ACA will no longer be there at the same level, but people that have higher income will have more subsidy. It makes me very sad and it makes me very angry."
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Dia Wall can be reached at dia.wall@kshb.com.
