Affordable Care Act needs expansion, not repeal

Dear Editor,
Last week, the Republicans in Washington revealed their plans for replacing the Affordable Care Act.
Unsurprisingly, their plan would hurt poor and working-class people and women while creating billions of dollars of new tax giveaways to corporations and the wealthy.
Simply defending the Affordable Care Act (popularly known as “Obamacare”) is not enough. We must lead with our vision of a universal healthcare system, publicly and equitably financed, to ensure that the human right to health care is guaranteed to all people in Vermont, and in our country.
Once again, Vermont has the opportunity to lead the nation. Full implementation of Act 48, the universal healthcare bill passed in 2011, is the way forward.
As former Governor Shumlin’s abandonment of Act 48 shows, we cannot rely on politicians to do the right thing without strong grassroots pressure. The Vermont Workers’ Center is calling on Vermonters to organize in our communities, and to support front-line healthcare workers, like those at the UVM Medical Center, who are organizing for a voice in the healthcare system.
Ellen Schwartz is the President of the Vermont Workers’ Center