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Governor Brown Meets With ACA Patients Under Federal Threat

Governor Kate Brown met ACA patient Jacob Burris at Planned Parenthood's Regional Health and Education Center in Eugene. He has a congenital heart defect and fears a future that doesn't allow health coverage to people with preexisting conditions.
Tiffany Eckert
Governor Kate Brown met ACA patient Jacob Burris at Planned Parenthood's Regional Health and Education Center in Eugene. He has a congenital heart defect and fears a future that doesn't allow health coverage to people with preexisting conditions.

The Trump administration’s recent attempt to undermine the Affordable Care Act has prompted some state leaders to speak out. Oregon Governor Kate Brown met with patients at a health clinic in Eugene Tuesday and spoke on the need to protect health care coverage for all, especially those with pre-existing conditions.

Governor Brown stood before caregivers and patients at Planned Parenthood’s Regional Health and Education Center in Eugene.  

Governor Kate Brown met ACA patient Jacob Burris at Planned Parenthood's Regional Health and Education Center in Eugene. He has a congenital heart defect and fears a future that doesn't allow health coverage to people with preexisting conditions.
Credit Tiffany Eckert
Governor Kate Brown met ACA patient Jacob Burris at Planned Parenthood's Regional Health and Education Center in Eugene. He has a congenital heart defect and fears a future that doesn't allow health coverage to people with preexisting conditions.

“Every single one of us has a friend or a loved one with a pre-existing condition,” Brown says.

Jacob Burris is 16. He has a congenital heart defect that requires regular blood pressure monitoring and a life time of medication. Brown says the Trump administration’s decision is causing uncertainty for patients like Jacob.

“When he ages out of his current health insurance coverage, his job choices will be driven just as much by benefits as it will by vocation,” Brown says. “His life decisions will be based on his ability to get health insurance.”

Oregon Governor Kate Brown speaks at Planned Parenthood in Eugene, as caregivers, ACA patients and activists show support.
Credit Tiffany Eckert
Oregon Governor Kate Brown speaks at Planned Parenthood in Eugene, as caregivers, ACA patients and activists show support.

Brown says state law protects Oregonians with pre-existing conditions from losing healthcare. But with efforts by the Trump administration to weaken the ACA, she says we shouldn’t take anything for granted.

Copyright 2018 KLCC

Tiffany joined the KLCC News team in 2007. She studied journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and has worked in a variety of media including television and daily print news. For KLCC, Tiffany reports on health care, social justice and local/regional news. She has won awards from Oregon Associated Press, PRNDI, and Education Writers Association.