Arizona families need Affordable Care Act, former state lawmaker says

PHOENIX — As President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration day approaches, many people across country are voicing concerns about the future of the Affordable Care Act.

One of them is Jennifer Longdon, the chief external affairs officer for the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers.

Longdon, a Democratic former state lawmaker who stopped representing Arizona’s fifth legislative district in January, told KTAR News 92.3 FM she’s worried about the future of the law that Trump tried to take down in 2017.

“I think that folks who don’t know what life was like before the Affordable Care Act don’t realize how bad it could be,” Longdon said. “People don’t face bankruptcy because of medical costs anymore — not like we used to see.”

Why many are concerned about future of the Affordable Care Act

One of Trump’s primary campaign promises ahead of his 2016 presidential term was to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

However, his efforts to repeal it were shot down in 2017 — largely due to late Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain, who voted no.

Since 2014, the Affordable Care Act has provided affordable health care coverage to 50 million Americans, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

During his time in office, President Joe Biden passed temporary subsidies as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. He then extended those enhanced subsidies in 2022 through the 2022 passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.

As Congress faces a looming decision on whether to extend enhanced subsidies set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025, Arizonans may find themselves wondering how such a move could reshape their access to affordable health care.

Former Arizona lawmaker talks future of the Affordable Care Act

Longdon said this coverage changed the game for countless Americans — including herself.

“Before the Affordable Care Act, I was injured in 2004 and while I was in a medically induced coma, I was disenrolled from my health insurance by a technicality,” Longdon said. “As a result, there were more than $1 million in bills the first year between ICU and respiratory support and physical therapy. It just goes on and on.”

She then lost her health insurance, and ensuing bills forced her into bankruptcy.

“I lost my son’s college fund up to that point in time, my home, everything. We lost everything as a result of my spinal cord injury,” Longdon said.

How Arizonans could be impacted by future of the Affordable Care Act

For Arizonans currently receiving subsidized coverage through the ACA, the stakes in Congress’s upcoming decision could be similarly life-altering. Without legislative action, premiums could skyrocket, and some residents might lose coverage entirely.

“Then, at the time, because I now had a pretty significant pre-existing condition, it was impossible to get new health care coverage which meant that I had trouble getting treated as I needed. Plus, I was poor because I couldn’t work. So you know, it just kept piling on and piling on,” Longdon said.

The ACA not only eliminated coverage denials for pre-existing conditions but also removed lifetime caps on insurance payouts.

“Once the Affordable Care Act was passed, pre-existing conditions were no longer a disqualifier for health care. Lifetime caps no longer existed,” Longdon said. “My bills from my first year were more than $1 million and I could have blown through a lifetime cap for coverage at that time.”

Due to the way the law has helped her and millions of other Americans, Longdon urged Arizonans to do all they could to ensure the future of the Affordable Care Act.

“We have to do everything we can to protect the Affordable Care Act to protect Arizona’s families,” Longdon said.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Heidi Hommel contributed to this report.