We can’t allow indifference to harm our fellow Sussex Countians

Nick Serratore came to Coastal Delaware in 1996. He was entranced by the flat landscape and ever-changing colors.

"It's difficult to describe in words the colors of the seasonal skies of Sussex County," he wrote.

So he painted them instead – soft-focused pastels of sand dunes, a World War II tower, moonlit breakers off Cape Henlopen. (Check his website.)

Serratore was among the speakers at Friday's rally in support of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, at Nanticoke Health Services in Seaford. About 100 people – staff, officials and the public – gathered in the hospital's lobby.

Age 48, Serratore described himself as a self-employed though not "starving artist."

But it's a life of uncertain cash flow. He never knows if a show will bring success or failure.

"My income fluctuates on a month-to-month, year-to-year basis," he said. "It's like a roller coaster ride. It's a crapshoot."

About 10 years ago, life tossed Serratore an additional, far darker layer of uncertainty.

His father died of colon cancer. At a doctor's urging, Serratore paid $1,000 to get tested.

The results? Not good. Serratore had inherited the same genetic markers as his father. He was rated high risk for colon cancer.

For most people, cancer screenings begin at age 50. He began at 39. For many, colon cancer screenings are recommended every 10 years. He gets them every two.

But where life threw more risk his way, the ACA offered help.

"I'm the kind of person that benefits from the Affordable Care Act," he said.

"I need this healthcare to prevent this from happening to me," he said. "I don't want to go through what my father did. It was horrible."

Through the ACA, Serratore was able to get health insurance he could afford. A burden had been lifted.

"I was so happy," he said. "Obamacare insures that I get the preventative testing I need. It's a safety net guaranteeing me full coverage at a reasonable price."

Unfortunately, an unnecessary and potentially deadly uncertainty has reentered Serratore's life, courtesy of the Republican-led Congress.
On Thursday, in a near-party- line vote, Congress took the first step toward dismantling Obamacare. There is no ready replacement.

There is no timetable.

During the past six years, Republicans found time to stage 60 or more wholly symbolic votes against Obamacare. They knew, obviously, that President Obama would veto any bill that crossed his desk. They did not find time to suggest ways to improve Obamacare or to develop their own plan.

President-elect Donald Trump has said that he would repeal Obamacare and replace it with "something great."

But "something great" isn't a plan. It's a return to dreaded uncertainty.

We can't allow national politics to harm our friends, neighbors and family members here in Sussex County. It doesn't matter if you're Republican or Democrat. It doesn't matter who you voted for in November.

Ending Obamacare absent a good replacement plan makes no sense.

Congress's action goes beyond mere foolishness. It's legislative malpractice. If a doctor were to act with such callous disregard for his patients it would be considered criminal malpractice. Here's how Julie Cantor, a lawyer with a medical degree, put it in a 2011 Fox News Health story.

Medical malpractice becomes criminal when the doctor acts with such a "deviation from standard of care that it almost takes your breath away," Cantor said. "It's gross incompetence or indifference to a patient's well-being."

Yanking the health insurance of 20 million people without a plan to replace it?

Yeah, that takes my breath away. And it's gross indifference to people like Nick Serratore and thousands just like him. Right here in Sussex County.

Friday's rally included too much information to include here. There will be a follow-up.