ACA

Washington, D.C. - May 26, 2017: Matthew Kimmel, in his D.C. apartment Friday May 26, 2017. He is a contractor for the State Department and has lived with Ulcerative Colitis since he was a boy.

Matthew's response to a New York Times Opinion department question asking readers to consider how the repeal of the ACA would affect them: I was diagnosed with a chronic medical condition when I was 9. Growing up, I was fortunate enough to have a mother who was able to advocate and fight for me on virtually every front, from keeping me enrolled in a normal school to getting me access to experimental drug trials. But, I also saw her and my father sobbing over medical bills when we had to go on COBRA, and how draining long hours of negotiations over the phone with insurance companies were. I don't know how I would have survived without having an advocate and a family with enough savings to keep me insured. I am now successful, independent, and working in a field and city I love. If the ACA is repealed, I am unsure if I will be able to afford insurance or hikes to my medication. I will live in constant fear of being laid off or fired and losing my insurance, or worrying that I will have a flair up which will devastate me financially.

CREDIT: Matt Roth for The New York Times
Assignment ID: 30206757A

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Washington, D.C. - May 26, 2017: Matthew Kimmel, in his D.C. apartment Friday May 26, 2017. He is a contractor for the State Department and has lived with Ulcerative Colitis since he was a boy. <br />
<br />
Matthew's response to a New York Times Opinion department question asking readers to consider how the repeal of the ACA would affect them: I was diagnosed with a chronic medical condition when I was 9. Growing up, I was fortunate enough to have a mother who was able to advocate and fight for me on virtually every front, from keeping me enrolled in a normal school to getting me access to experimental drug trials. But, I also saw her and my father sobbing over medical bills when we had to go on COBRA, and how draining long hours of negotiations over the phone with insurance companies were. I don't know how I would have survived without having an advocate and a family with enough savings to keep me insured. I am now successful, independent, and working in a field and city I love. If the ACA is repealed, I am unsure if I will be able to afford insurance or hikes to my medication. I will live in constant fear of being laid off or fired and losing my insurance, or worrying that I will have a flair up which will devastate me financially.<br />
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<br />
CREDIT: Matt Roth for The New York Times<br />
Assignment ID: 30206757A