New Jersey Senator Discusses The 'Human Cost' Of Obamacare Repeal (VIDEO)

U.S. Senator and former Newark Mayor Cory Booker knows that facts and figures can only do so much. Sometimes you have to put a face to an issue to make it hit home.

As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares Thursday to vote on the bill that may replace the Affordable Care Act, Booker released a video featuring several impassioned pleas from people who allegedly rely on Obamacare to help them and their loved ones.

“I’m not sure if I’ve ever had a moment in my life where I’m watching my country try to do something that is so damaging to people’s lives,” Booker said. “And you kind of forget – even me – when you’re running around and talking about data like ‘half a million New Jerseyans’… That’s data… But each one of those people – each one of those numbers – is a human story.”

In support of Booker’s statement, several Obamacare supporters spoke about the effects that ACA repeal would have on their loved ones and themselves.

“I have a 92-year-old mother in a nursing home,” one woman said. “She’s wheelchair-bound, incontinent and she has dementia. Without Medicaid, I don’t know how we would afford to pay for the care she needs.”

“Both of my daughters… only have access to medications and medical care because of Medicaid,” another woman said. “I have to work more than 60 hours per week to make ends meet. But as hard as I work, I will not be able to afford the medicine that my daughters need."

Listen to more stories in the below video.

REPEALING OBAMACARE

GOP supporters of the plan have suggested that the American Health Care Act – the proposed replacement for Obamacare – will promote competition and consumer choice.

“Obamacare is collapsing, and American families are paying the price,” Speaker of the House Paul Ryan stated. “It’s driving up premiums and driving out health care options for patients. We must finally repeal this failed law and it put in place a better system that promotes competition and consumer choice. That’s why House Republicans are delivering on a step-by-step plan to end the Obamacare nightmare and give Americans access to truly affordable, quality health coverage.”

• See related article: 7 Things We Don't Know About The Republican Health Care Plan

But don’t tell that to the New Jersey patients who say they depend on Obamacare in their daily battles against serious illnesses.

“Paul,” a Montclair resident, said that he depends on Obamacare to help him with his battle against bladder cancer, HIV and severe depression.

“[Paul] told us that he is scared, like most people who rely on the Affordable Care Act, because Republicans are determined to gut the legislation,” U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. stated. “He told us that he depends on the ACA for his medications and treatments, without which, he fears, he will die.”

According to Payne Jr., Paul lives on an unstable income, and it’s only because of the ACA that he is able to afford his treatments.

“He is rightly concerned about whether he will be able to afford his next urologist appointment, and about what will happen if he can no longer pay for his depression medication,” Payne Jr. said. “Now, Paul told us this was the first time he publicly announced his medical conditions, because he wants people to see the human face on the problem of ACA repeal. He wants people to know that the ACA is keeping people alive.”

• See related article: Montclair Man’s Story Highlights Need For Obamacare

Economic think-tank New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) released a report that claims that the repeal of the ACA would hit Essex County the hardest out of all Garden State counties.

According to NJPP’s analysis, Essex County has 109,000 residents at risk of losing their healthcare benefits and coverage. In addition, repeal of the ACA would also cause a loss of $475 million in federal funds and 9,700 jobs in Essex County.

• See related article: Obamacare Repeal Would ‘Devastate’ Essex County

Other New Jersey lawmakers have recently gone on record in opposition to repealing the ACA.

Rep. Frank LoBiondo said that he will vote no on the American Health Care Act proposal when it goes before the House on Thursday night.

“My prior votes to repeal all or parts of Obamacare underscore what I have long argued - we need a better healthcare system. Regrettably, the current healthcare proposal is not better for South Jersey,” LoBiondo said Wednesday afternoon. “Under the current proposal, many South Jersey residents would be left with financial hardship or without the coverage they now receive. Our seniors on Medicare already struggle to make each dollar stretch. Three South Jersey counties have more than 30 percent of their residents receiving Medicaid assistance. Medical professionals - our hospitals, doctors, nurses – are opposed.”

• See related article: 'I Will Vote No On Healthcare Plan' LoBiondo Says
• See related article: N.J. Activists Plan Healthcare ‘Stakeouts’ For 6 Republican Congressmen

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo/screenshot: Cory Booker, Twitter