On Thursday, Feb. 15, EMU welcomed a three-person panel to discuss the status of our nation’s Affordable Care Act — also referred to as its nickname “Obamacare” — under the new Trump administration. The panel included Timothy Stoltzfus-Jost, a coauthor of a casebook regarding health laws; accompanied by Cathy Rittenhouse, a nurse practitioner with a Master of Science in Nursing; and David Moyer-Diener, an emergency physician with an MD. This diverse panel was matched with a wide-ranging crowd, consisting of EMU students, faculty, viewers of the online stream, and members of the surrounding community.

Stoltzfus-Jost started the night off by explaining the initial acceptance of the thousand-plus-paged law that was signed in March 2010 by then-president Obama with the prospect of providing health coverage and the hope to improve the quality of care in America. Stoltzfus-Jost continued the conversation into Trump’s current presidential Cabinet and how the new administration has been working to put an end to the cost-sharing payments designed to provide low-income Americans with health insurance. However, despite Trump’s strong opposition to the bill, it has continued to be covered under his administration. From there, the panel continued to weigh the pros and cons of the healthcare law and how to effectively amend or correct the problematic areas rather than scrapping the whole process. Other areas of interest the board touched on were the insurance market, economy, immigration, and provisions linked to healthcare laws.

Senior Grayson Mast was pleased with the outcome of Thursday night, saying, “The seminar was a really neat opportunity for EMU students, and the event definitely helped to clarify the current state of the healthcare system.”

The night concluded with a brief talk-back and follow-up session, all of which seemed to put people on the edges of their seats. There were a multitude of questions and comments, ranging from the success of local hospitals and urgent care facilities to the CHIP program.

These concerns resonated with Sarah Eyre, nursing and graduate student. Eyre expressed disbelief in her new realizations while considering her future patients, jobs, and those who continue to struggle with healthcare issues. “I’m shocked. I was unaware of nurse practitioners being unable to practice at their full ability,” said Eyre. “It’s a shame that the topic of healthcare has become something that makes us foam at the mouth.”