Michigan Radio: Sen. Peters: The ACA is not perfect, but everyone deserves quality, affordable healthcare

Thousands showed up at a rally in Warren on Sunday where Democratic Presidential Candidate and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, along with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, all joined together vowing to fight Republican attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

It was one of dozens of rallies held across the country in support of Obamacare.

Michigan Senator Gary Peters joined Stateside to discuss the rally and what he’s hearing from Michigan voters and lawmakers with regard to the ACA and Republican repeal efforts.

“People are very concerned...” he said. “We have hundreds of thousands of people in this state that now have health insurance that didn’t have it before, now have the peace of mind that goes with that, and they’re frightened, quite frankly.”

The problem, he said, is he hasn’t heard “any specifics” from his Republican colleagues on the Hill or from the incoming Trump administration in regards to a potential replacement for the ACA.

“People are very, very concerned – and rightfully so,” he said. “Most importantly are those people who now have healthcare coverage – folks who oftentimes would come to me with tears in their eyes and thank me for supporting the Affordable Care Act, because now they had the peace of mind that went with it, and often suffering from various ailments and diseases. Now those same people have tears in their eyes worrying that it’s going to be taken away.”

He said that while the ACA has it’s imperfections, he hopes everyone will unify around a core concept:

“No matter who you are, no matter where you live, you should have access to quality, affordable healthcare.”