Would Tom Rice really take health insurance away from thousands of his voters?

According to the 2015 census, Horry County’s median income per household is $47,500. There is an average of 2.5 people per household, and the median age is 45.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2007 a family in that age group, on average, was paying $6900 a year for individual (non-employer) health insurance. I am using 2016 dollars.)

Under the Affordable Care Act, that family today can get a bronze policy for $2712 and upwards, per year, out of his paycheck; a silver policy for as little as $3700; or a gold policy for $6960. The ACA will allow a subsidy of $531 a month to help pay for that policy. So this family would have to pay monthly anywhere from $226 per month for the cheapest policy, to $638 for the most expensive.

Silver plans range from $308 to $424. Subsidies would pick up the remaining portions of the monthly premium. It seems to me out-of- pocket premiums for consumers have gone down since 2007, at least for the age group I cite here. With any of these insurance policies, each family member gets a wellness visit at no cost; it’s built into the premium payment, to some degree. What’s included in those visits is included in the law.

In South Carolina, it is estimated that more than 170,000 people are signed up for insurance with the ACA. The Seventh Congressional District has more than 29,000 signed up, more than any other district in South Carolina. That our congressman, Tom Rice, wants to repeal the ACA and rip insurance away from these people, his own constituents, is deplorable.

Fix the problems with the law, Mr. Rice. Don’t leave more than 29,000 District 7 voters without any health insurance.

Repealing this law reopens the doughnut hole for our seniors on Medicare who need their prescriptions to enjoy life on the Grand Strand.

Repealing this law takes money away from our hospitals and could possibly cause them to scale back operations or even close.

Do what is right for all of District 7 and the country and vote no on repealing the Affordable Care Act.

The writer lives in Little River.

This story was originally published February 19, 2017 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Would Tom Rice really take health insurance away from thousands of his voters?."