The Affordable Care Act saved me from a job that was killing my soul

It turns out grinding away at a career you have no passion for whatsoever simply for the stability of health insurance coverage is not sustainable. It will take a serious toll on your mental health. 

I know this because after eight years as the graphic designer at a leading commercial real estate brokerage, I found myself having regular panic attacks and eventually even had to take a leave of absence due to a nervous breakdown. 

While I was on what our society would describe as a successful career path, working hard at a miserable job caused such extreme burnout that I was unable to balance work and life. My mental and physical health were suffering just to keep my family insured. My skills had a different purpose and I needed to make a change, but the idea of losing employer based benefits and having to afford health insurance on top of making ends meet was a barrier that deterred me from taking the leap. 

To my delight, accessing affordable, reliable health insurance coverage for my family through the marketplace gave me the peace of mind I needed to be able to leave the corporate world behind and pursue the dream of working for myself. 

The lifesaving benefits of the Affordable Care Act are often discussed, but the lifestyle benefits are seldom mentioned. I am now an entrepreneur with time and energy for my family, not to mention my own self care. My quality of life has improved such that I have never questioned whether leaving my job was the right move. 

The Affordable Care Act has been a game-changer for people like me, and the health care law is only getting stronger. 

Unfortunately, we cannot be content with the status quo, because our health care is still under attack.

Thirteen years ago, President Barack Obama signed the ACA into law — improving the health and well-being of millions of people across the nation. In the years since, we’ve seen health outcomes improve across all age groups, medical debt decrease, and stronger financial security for families. We’ve also seen stark inequities in care narrow — both for rural Americans and communities of color who have traditionally faced serious barriers to health care. And we’ve seen millions of people with pre-existing conditions get the health care they need to thrive at an affordable cost. 

This progress has not come easily. The ACA has survived dozens of lawsuits and countless repeal bills from Republican lawmakers. Yet, at every step of the way, we’ve rallied to protect the ACA and its core protections for the American people. 

Now, President Joe Biden and Congress have worked tirelessly not only to protect the ACA but make it even stronger  — and these efforts are paying off. 

Last year, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which expanded tax credits to help make premiums more affordable for people purchasing coverage on their own. This means the average family in Arizona like mine could save $4,763 on health care, giving them more breathing room to pay for other essentials like food, child care, and housing. 

The Biden administration also made record investments in the Navigator program and eliminated the family glitch, which previously blocked millions of families from receiving coverage under the ACA. As a result, coverage is more affordable than ever before, and the uninsured rate has reached an all-time low. 

Today, a record 16.3 million people, including 235,229 in Arizona, have signed up for health care coverage for 2023. Policies like expanded tax credits are overwhelmingly popular, regardless of political party. They are also critical to expand access to care and, ultimately, achieve better health outcomes, particularly for people of color and other marginalized communities. 

Still, there is more work to be done to protect these coverage gains, make health care more affordable, and tackle systemic inequities that persist due to racism and discrimination.

Even as the ACA is stronger than ever, Republican threats to dismantle the health care law and its core protections for people with pre-existing conditions remain. Republicans have not given up on their more than decade-long effort to repeal the ACA, and they are now fighting to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, as well. 

Through ongoing budget negotiations, Republicans are actively seeking massive cuts from the ACA and Medicaid expansion, which would rip coverage from 20 million Americans and raise premiums for nearly 15 million more. This would disproportionately impact children, rural Americans, and people of color.

If Republicans get their way, health care costs would skyrocket and millions of Americans would be thrown off their coverage with nowhere to turn. Some things never change: Republicans want to raise health costs, ditch critical protections and put profits over patients. 

We must remain vigilant as these threats to the affordable health care that Arizonans rely on continue. The ACA has touched so many lives and its impact only continues to grow, but it’s up to us to make sure that the ACA reaches its full promise of delivering affordable health care to everyone.