Her Life For Obamacare: Washington Woman Will Stop Cancer Treatment If Repeal Passes

MERCER ISLAND, WA — A local woman is planning to give her life up to save the Affordable Care Act, which she says is an act of protest against a "disturbing" piece of legislation. Julie Negrin has had four unrelated types of cancer since 2011, and she will give up her current cancer treatments if Republicans in the Senate pass a repeal of the ACA, also called Obamacare. Stopping her treatments, she says, means that she will likely die slowly of dehydration.

"My life in exchange for millions," Negrin wrote in a Facebook post last week. "It will take courage. I hate the idea of dehydrating to death - which is likely how it will go down, super slow and painful... BUT I WILL DO IT. Because saving millions of people is more important than my one life.

"You pass this bill, I take myself out."

Negrin, 45, was first diagnosed with melanoma in 2011. But in 2014, she found out she had three other types of cancer: colon, ovarian and endometrial. Since then, she has lived in pain and under constant medical care. The pain is so bad now, she's ready to give up her fight with cancer for the ACA.

Republicans in the House and Senate have devoted most of 2017 to passing a repeal and replacement of the ACA. Republicans have wanted to repeal the law for nearly a decade, and it was a main plank of President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.

But the form of the repeal has been largely unpopular. In an analysis released in June, the Congressional Budget Office said the first version of the repeal introduced in the Senate would kick about 22 million people off health insurance by 2026.

Republicans released a new version of the bill on Thursday to appeal to moderate and conservative Senators who weren't in favor of the first version. The new bill includes more money for opioid treatment; it also includes a way for insurers to offer policies to sick people that are priced based on their condition as long as they also offer Obamacare-style plans, an idea promoted by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas. But Cruz's idea has been criticized because it would split risk pools, leaving sick people to pay enormous premiums. The CBO is expected to release a new analysis of the bill this week.

The Senate is expected to vote on the new version of the bill soon, but the bill still might lack enough Republican votes to pass. A vote this week was delayed due to U.S. Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, undergoing surgery.

Negrin's ultimate protest of the bill, she points out, is the only way for her to do something; both Washington Senators are Democrats, and no Democrats are voting for the repeal.

"I've had 4 unrelated cancers, lost 4 organs and have many complications. Every day is a struggle for me," she wrote on Facebook. "But that's not why I'm doing this. My reason is this: to activate a Movement to restore our healthcare system before you kick off millions of people from their insurance.

"My life in exchange for millions."

Image via Facebook