James Waltimire is a police officer currently on unpaid medical leave. He has been going to the hospital in the small town of Defiance, Ohio, two times a week for his physical therapy. He recently had leg surgery and all of his medical bills are being paid by Medicaid, as of now.
At 54 years of age, Mr. Waltimire can sign up under the current health care plan that is in place, The Affordable Care Act. This government health insurance currently covers over 700,000 adults around the country who are considered low income. Mr. Waltimire placed his vote with President Trump in November of 2016 primarily because of the president’s support of law enforcement. However, he is now concerned that the GOP’s plan to get rid of Medicaid expansion in the states by repealing the health care law.
There are millions of other Americans who are in situations like Mr. Waltimire, and this recent attack on health care is seen by many online public relations degree graduates as a PR campaign by the Republicans that has a chance to backfire in the area of the country with a large number of loyal supporters of the president.
Many of these Americans remember when President Trump said during his presidential campaign that he had no intentions of doing away with Medicaid. The administration appears to being doing the opposite. With over $880 billion out of Medicaid at stake, a lot of Americans who do not have insurance will have nowhere to turn.
The Republicans Struggle with Health Care
The Republicans in Washington are struggling to figure out how to keep the promise that was made to the public to undo the Affordable Care Act; they are facing a major hurdle. The question they face is how they can bridge the expectations of blue collar workers who helped put the president into office with the stance the party always had about the government not providing a lot of benefits to a wide section of the citizens.
If they move forward with their drafted health care bill as many online PR degree graduates believe they will do, they may keep their promise to repeal ‘Obamacare’, but they will also cause harm to a disproportionate number of older, white, working class Americans who helped shape President’s Trump entry into the White House.
Strong Republican Support in the Midwest
This is a region of the country that has voted the Republican ticket for decades and Republicans won over 60 percent of this area in the last election. This is the largest percentage since the Reagan era. However, there are those in this tight knit Midwest region that have conflicting views on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act . For them, the thought of repealing is attractive, but it is not as simple as it seems.
The Goal of the Republican Legislation
The legislation wants to reduce the amount for private premiums, but for many who are using the Medicaid expansion, they have been warned that they may be ‘in trouble’. However, out of those who are using Medicaid, they have faith that the president will never jeopardize their health care.
As for Mr. Waltimire, he is hoping to return to work very soon and he still believes that the president will make it so everyone in the country has access to health care.