12 JANUARY 12, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM EDITORIAL Congress must keep Obamacare alive Since the Affordable Care Act THE HOT TOPIC STORY: Douglaston Macy’s and movie theater to move out, Lowe’s Home Improvement looking to move in SUMMARY: The Douglaston Plaza shopping center is going to lose its Macy’s and MovieWorld theater in 2017, but will be gaining a big box home improvement retailer. REACH: 74,425 (as of Jan. 9, 20 17) COMMENTS: ESTABLISHED 1908 Co-Publishers VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA SCHNEPS Editor-in-Chief ROBERT POZARYCKI Classifi ed Manager DEBORAH CUSICK Assistant Classifi ed Manager MARLENE RUIZ Reporter ANTHONY GIUDICE © 2017 SCHNEPS NY MEDIA, LLC. General Publication Offi ce: 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 TELEPHONE: 1-718-821-7500/7501/7502/7503 FAX: 1-718-224-5441 E-MAIL: editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com WEB SITE: www.qns.com ON TWITTER @ridgewoodtimes PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY FOR 108 YEARS COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY: Accuracy in receiving ads over the telephone cannot be guaranteed. This newspaper is responsible for only one incorrect insertion and only for that portion of the ad in which the error appears. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make sure copy does not contravene the Consumer Protection Law or any other requirement.TIMES NEWSWEEKLY Is Listed With The Standard Rate & Data And Is A Member Of The New York Press Association SNAPS WINTER WONDERLAND IN WHITESTONE PHOTO BY MICHAEL PURPURA, VIA WE LOVE WHITESTONE Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us tag @queenscourier on Instagram, Facebook page, tweeting @QNS or by emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps). (aka Obamacare) was enacted in 2010, Republicans have worked diligently to have it repealed and replaced. Most of the focus has been on the repeal eff ort rather than what would replace a program that provides health insurance coverage to more than 20 million Americans. Now that Republicans are poised to have full control of Congress and the White House for the fi rst time since 2006, the talk of repealing Obamacare is moving closer to reality. What happens to those Americans who would lose coverage—including nearly 500,000 in Queens alone—and what would replace Obamacare remain a great mystery. To repeal Obamacare without providing an adequate replacement for it—basically, something that provides the same services but at a far lower price to taxpayers—would be an act of fi scal and moral irresponsibility. Members of Congress must not take such a grave measure, one that would have tremendous repercussions on the health of millions and the nation’s economy. According to Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York state would lose billions in funding vital not just to making health insurance aff ordable, but also maintaining the vast networks of medical facilities serving people across the Empire State. Before Obamacare, we wrote about three Queens hospitals forced to shut their doors due to economic turmoil: St. John’s in Elmhurst, Mary Immaculate in Jamaica and Parkway in Forest Hills. These institutions went under largely because the costs of treating uninsured patients and reduced compensation from health insurance providers proved too great for the hospitals to continue. Obamacare hasn’t saved medical institutions as much as it has kept them on life support. New York Health + Hospitals is a prime example of that; the network of city hospitals is bleeding red ink because health care costs continue to spiral upward. To a person, most would acknowledge that Obamacare is far from a panacea for all that ails the health care industry in this country. If anything, Obamacare isn’t doing enough to address the extraordinary costs of medical care. If nothing is done to improve what we already have, the health care system will collapse slowly—but if Obamacare is killed entirely, the health care system will collapse swift ly, and the damage to our economy and to our overall health will be far-reaching. We know the Queens Congressional delegation will fi ght to keep the Affordable Care Act alive, but we encourage our readers to reach out to them, thank them for their support and urge them to fi ght to save and improve Obamacare.
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