With the nomination of a new Justice, as a disabled woman, I have a lot of concerns. Access to abortion for my community is one of them, and keeps me up at night...

But the monster under my bed, is the impact on the Affordable Care Act. 1/ #HandsOffTheACA #CripTheVote

The ACA guarantees insurance protections for people with preexisting conditions.

129 million people living with pre-existing conditions, including people with disabilities, lives changed when these protections were created. 2/

#HandsOffTheACA #CripTheVote

The ACA is not just about health insurance, though that is a BIG piece of it. For the disability community, the ACA is about freedom.

Access to healthcare dictates a majority of decisions made by people with disabilities and their families. 3/

#HandsOffTheACA #CripTheVote

The ACA meant you didn’t have to stay in an abusive relationship if you had a preexisting condition, or your kids did, because you depended on your partner for your health insurance.

The freedom to leave an unsafe relationship is so important. 4/

#HandsOffTheACA #CripTheVote

The ACA meant you didn’t have to stay in a job that didn’t pay you enough, discriminated against you, or you just plain didn’t like, because you had insurance there. 5/

#HandsOffTheACA #CripTheVote

My mom was in a job where her disability had worsened and she was discriminated against because of it.

I asked why she didn’t leave, and she said she couldn’t b/c she’d never get insurance. She stayed, and was bullied, until the day she died. 6/

#HandsOffTheACA #CripTheVote

With COVID and #LongHauler numbers growing, repealing the ACA protections is going to leave MILLIONS uninsured and uninsureable. Because the Administration refused to act.

I am terrified for everyone in this position. 7/
#HandsOffTheACA #CripTheVote

The Federal Government is the largest employer of people with disabilities in the country. In large part because of the insurance protections. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but it restricts the mobility of disabled people. 8/

#HandsOffTheACA #CripTheVote

The need for insurance security outweighs the freedom to dream of doing something different for oneself.

-To go back to school
-To start your own business
-To join a start up

All of those options are gone when the ACA is repealed. 9/
#HandsOffThreACA #CripTheVote

The ACA means more than just the paper it’s written on for people with disabilities. It meant that my mother’s grandchildren wouldn’t have to make the same choices she did. 10/end

#HandsOffTheACA #CripTheVote