12 MAY 11, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM EDITORIAL Health care repeal would kill Queens House Republicans ignorantly THE HOT TOPIC STORY: Horse riding school in Forest Hills sold to nonprofi t that helps special needs individuals SUMMARY: Lynne’s Riding School, an equestrian center in Forest Hills, has been sold to GallopNYC, a nonprofi t organization that off ers horseback experiences to individuals young and old with special needs. REACH: 22,676 people (as of 5/8/17) 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 DOG DAYS IN ASTORIA PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM @ king_astor_the_cavalier 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). celebrated last week passage of their so-called replacement to the Aff ordable Care Act (ACA) that, despite its name, cares little about the health of Americans. The so-called American Health Care Act takes away billions of dollars toward subsidies from some 24 million Americans who use them to purchase health care; it also expands the power of health insurance companies to disqualify people from coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Millions more Americans would be thrown off the health insurance rolls if this deleterious bill becomes law. Of course, the bill exempts members of Congress from the provisions of this legislation. Who could trust a chef who doesn’t eat his own food? Even the most ardent supporters of the ACA acknowledge that it needs changes and reforms to reduce costs for coverage and other fi nancial burdens faced by taxpayers, medical institutions and health insurers alike. Killing the ACA outright, however, would send families and medical institutions here in Queens and elsewhere into a fi nancial tailspin. This is not hyperbole. Before the ACA’s passage, hospitals in Queens and elsewhere closed under the weight of mounting debts. Uninsured patients flooded emergency rooms seeking care they could not aff ord, but knowing they couldn’t be turned away from treatment. Medical centers lost billions of dollars from being unable to collect on the care they provided. Families burned through their savings and ultimately went into bankruptcy whenever a loved one suff ered a serious injury or illness, but their insurance provider couldn’t or wouldn’t cover their care. Estimates from Governor Andrew Cuomo’s offi ce earlier this year determined that nearly 500,000 Queens residents would lose their health insurance coverage — and the state would incur billions in debt — if the ACA is repealed and replaced with a far weaker alternative. It’s safe to say, however, that if the American Health Care Act is passed in its current form, thousands more Queens residents — including those who didn’t even get their coverage through the ACA — would be at risk of losing their insurance due to pre-existing conditions. We’re lucky that our Queens representatives voted against the American Health Care Act, and we’re confi dent Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand will do everything in their power to stop the bill in its tracks. There is hope that the Senate will off er a compromise bill far more humane than the House’s disgraceful legislation. We believe, however, that the compromises should be focused on reforming the ACA, rather than repealing and replacing it with something new. We urge our readers to call Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and encourage them to save the ACA from greedy, out-of-touch ideologues that would do us all harm.
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