Tea Party Candidate Was Denied Coverage Before Obamacare That He Now Has

Matt Bevin is a Kentucky Republican trying to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He had a preexisting condition the prevented getting medical care in the past–and adopted child. With Obamacare, an adopted baby is no longer considered a preexisting condition. You would think Bevin would be thankful that his baby is now covered because of Barack Obama. Think again.

Bevin’s experience is exactly the type of ordeal that families no longer have to go through now that Obamacare is the law of the land. Before health reform, millions of Americans were denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions — often, for common and minor ailments like old knee injuries, astha, and even acne. Now, insurers are required to cover people regardless of their pre-existing health conditions. And like Bevin, many Americans’ coverage used to be put in jeopardy every year when they lost or changed jobs; but now, the law’s new marketplaces give people more options.

Despite unwittingly making a succinct case in favor of health reform, Bevin’s takeaway from his own insurance debacle was that we need to repeal Obamacare and instead “let states come up with solutions.” He told the crowd that he remains committed to “100 percent repeal,” even in a state where Obamacare’s popularity has resulted in a 40 percent drop in the uninsurance rate and given health coverage to more than 400,000 Kentuckians.

D.B. Hirsch

D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.