As Republicans prepare to repeal the Affordable Care Act following Donald Trump’s inauguration as president, a rally in support of the ACA drew a large crowd to downtown Boston Sunday.
The event outside Faneuil Hall was one of dozens of pro-ACA events that Democrats held around the country in an attempt to convince Republicans that repealing the ACA will carry a political cost. The speakers included a woman who said her mother beat cancer thanks to the ACA; the head of Boston Medical Center; and a bevy of politicians. Several congresspeople were in attendance, as well as Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, state Attorney General Maura Healey, and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.
Markey gave Sunday’s activism an intensely local spin, telling the crowd that Massachusetts has a special investment in the healthcare fight.
“It was here at Faneuil Hall,” Markey said, “that Republican Governor Mitt Romney and Senator Ted Kennedy signed into law the healthcare reform that ultimately became the Affordable Care Act for the entire country.”
And, Markey told the attendees, they don’t just have indirect ownership of the ACA. They also hail from a state that’s been on the right side of political history, time and time again.
“Right here, this is where the American revolution began,” Markey said. “This is where the abolitionist movement began. This is where the suffragette movement began. This is where the anti-Vietnam war movement began. This is where the Freedom Riders left to go down south for that revolution in voting rights—and this is where the universal healthcare movement began.”
Warren’s approach was a bit different. While she invoked Ted Kennedy as well, she also warned that despite the state’s 2006 healthcare law, which is still on the books, there would be plenty of pain locally if the ACA is repealed.
“Guaranteed coverage for 2.9 million Massachusetts residents with preexisting conditions? Gone,” Warren warned. “Free preventive care for screenings like cancer for 3.4 million people here in Massachusetts? Gone. Funding to keep plans affordable on the Massachusetts health connector? Gone. Prescription drug savings for thousands of Massachusetts seniors? Gone.”
The speakers also cast the ACA as a legislative achievement in line with the vision of Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday is celebrated around the country Monday.
“Fifty years ago,” said Walsh, “Dr. King said, 'Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhumane.’ In other words, the right to healthcare is a human right.”
While the turnout was substantial—the attendees packed the plaza around the Sam Adams statue and spilled into nearby areas, and one organizer put their number at 6000—the event itself raised a obvious question: With Republicans about to control the presidency and both houses of Congress, do rallies like this have any chance of saving the ACA?
Patty Stuart of Lincoln said she was optimistic, but far from certain.
“Trump seems to be swayed by numbers of people, so I think, the more people that show up to things like this—he seems to look at social media and that sort of thing, so maybe it’ll send a message.”
And, she added: “It’s better than doing nothing.”
