By Dr. Al Gross
For The Cordova Times
Last month, Donald Trump encouraged the federal courts to strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA) right in the midst of a global health pandemic and during one of the worst economic crises in the history of our nation. To make matters worse, Trump then decided to pull the U.S. out of the World Health Organization—the only collective international group working towards a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Trump administration continues to fail at its job to lead in the midst of this pandemic and to keep our citizens safe. We’re even feeling it up here in Alaska where just this week, Alaska hit a record high of positive tests since the beginning of the outbreak.
Yet, time and time again, Dan Sullivan’s silence is deafening as he remains one of the good old “President’s Men”—and at what cost? To put it simply: Alaskan lives.
I will never be one to deny that our current health care system has its problems. Our elected leaders have the ability to do so much more to make our health care delivery system both more affordable and more accessible — but completely tearing apart an operational and semi-functional system in the midst of a national economic and health crisis would only serve to divide our country further, plunge us deeper into chaos, and is one of the worst things I have seen President Trump and his DC swamp cronies propose in the entirety of his presidency.
Trump and his allies firmly believe that bringing Americans back to the pre-ACA time will somehow solve our health care problems and make America great again, but that couldn’t be further from the truth, especially during the pandemic. At this critical crux in deciding the fate of our nation, Trump and our federal government could sponsor much needed infrastructure projects across our nation as work opportunities for those who are unemployed, as opposed to simply paying them to stay at home — but regardless, these people still need health insurance and it needs to be affordable.
Overwhelming health care costs and inefficiencies are what led to the creation of the ACA in the first place—but now, more than ever, we need to find a way to get people back to work, not threaten their health care or coverage for preexisting conditions. With millions of Americans out of a job, now is not the time to strip health insurance away from 23 million Americans by dismantling the ACA.
While health insurance is not, and should not be free, individuals and small businesses should have access to it as a public option which would dramatically improve both costs and accessibility. That is our best pathway toward economic recovery for the state of Alaska and for our country and it is long overdue. That is the way we can open a long-needed pathway away from employer-based insurance, which has been stifling innovation, crushing small businesses, and is eroding away at middle class wages.
Most importantly, that is how we push forward with change instead of taking a big step back.
There is an incredible opportunity here to do something great for our state and for our country but instead Donald Trump is trying to take us into deeper chaos. And once again, Dan Sullivan whose one-line litany to tear down the ACA got him elected, says nothing.
Dr. Al Gross, a commercial fisherman and orthopedic surgeon, is running as an independent in the U.S. Senate race in Alaska
