I have an ongoing pre-existing condition, and as I have struggled with it over the years, I have learned that many people also struggle with intense health conditions.

Before the Affordable Care Act, I had full health care coverage but would not have ever been able to move out of Iowa if I had chosen to. To leave Iowa would have meant that my pre-existing condition would not have allowed me to get coverage anywhere else. I was a young professional when I realized this. I had no real reason or desire to leave Iowa, but I was well aware that I couldn’t even if a lucrative offer came my way.

The Affordable Care Act allows me the freedom to seek life and health coverage anywhere I choose to live.

Under the ACA, many of my neighbors and friends received health care coverage for the first times in their lives. Parents who did not have to worry about whether or not they would be around long enough to care for their children because they could afford to be healthy for once. Parents who could get the medications that their children needed. And on and on.

The current legislation before Congress states the pre-existing conditions mandate that is currently covered by Obamacare will be maintained. Will it? Will they maintain the life time cap provision? This current government struggles to keep its promises. Many health care experts believe that millions will lose their health coverage. And it unfairly targets mental illness — a minority we could all join through no fault of our own.

I do not support the current legislation before the Congress, and I encourage you to educate yourself regarding its provisions, and call your members of Congress if you have concerns about this legislation. We are the only Western culture country that does not offer health care coverage for all our citizens. Please call your members of Congress to vote no on the current legislation.

Paul Norland

Northwood