Congressman not listening on health care

For residents of the Illinois Sixth Congressional District who depend upon the ACA for health insurance, the failure of Peter Roskam to stand up for our interests is inexcusable. Roskam for years voted to repeal this vital piece of legislation and now stands silently by as the Trump Justice Department refuses to defend it against a lawsuit threatening its continued existence.

The lawsuit, Texas v. U.S., targets one of the ACA's most popular provisions - coverage for pre-existing conditions. A Kaiser Health Tracking Poll found last month that three-quarters of respondents consider that provision "very important" and 70 percent say the same about the ACA's prohibition against insurance companies charging sick people higher premiums. By the way, nearly 60 percent of Americans said they live with a person who has a pre-existing medical condition, according to the poll.

Roskam has claimed in the press that he is "trying to fix health care," but his actions speak louder than his words. And his actions have indicated again and again that he is interested only in killing the ACA, not in ensuring that his constituents have continued access to health care. I've called his office numerous times in the past 18 months to encourage him to stand with the people of his district.

He hasn't listened in the past and he isn't listening now. Come November, I will be voting accordingly.

Sophia Gallo

Glen Ellyn