This Trump voter didn't think Trump was serious about repealing her health insurance
CORBIN, Kentucky — Why would people vote for a presidential candidate who campaigned on taking away their health insurance?
Last week, we went to Corbin, Kentucky, to try to answer that question. It’s a small city in southeastern Kentucky, an area of the country that has seen huge declines in its uninsured rate — but also voted overwhelmingly for Trump.
You can read more about what we learned there in this story, but we also wanted to give you the transcripts of the conversations we had so the people we talked to could speak for themselves.
Debbie Mills is a 53-year-old furniture store owner in Bell County, an area of the state right on the Tennessee border. Earlier this year, doctors discovered that her husband has non-alcoholic cirrhosis. He now needs a transplant if he’s going to survive. Mills and her husband keep a bag packed, waiting for the doctors to call with news that a liver is available.
This all means that Mills really, really needs her health insurance. And she’s very grateful for the Affordable Care Act, because she couldn’t afford insurance before it was passed.
And yet she voted for Donald Trump. Until we spoke, she said she hadn’t taken Trump’s repeal threats seriously. As we talked, she started to process what his election might mean for her family’s future.
Here’s that conversation, edited for clarity and length.
Sarah Kliff
Can you walk through what your experience has been with Healthcare.gov?
Debbie Mills
The insurance we had before, we ended up paying about $1,200 a month for a family of five. It just kept going up each year.
So we ended up dropping it.
We didn't have health insurance. And we went for maybe two years with no insurance until this came out. We really didn't go to the doctor because it cost too much.
So for the past two years, we had the Healthcare.gov. It's made it affordable.
My husband ended up getting sick this year. He has non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver.
He's lost all this weight and all this muscle tone. Some people don't recognize him that he's known for years until he speaks and they recognize his voice.
But it's been great to have health insurance, because I couldn't imagine what it would be like to not have it with all the treatments and things that he's had to have done.
When we didn't have health insurance, we didn't go and get blood work and all that stuff done to be checked to see, you know, how his liver was doing.
He was taking medicines that could damage the liver for the cholesterol and all that stuff. But because it costs so much to get blood work done … [the doctor] wanted it done every three months, and he would do it maybe once a year.
Byrd Pinkerton
So just to be clear, he only got it once a year during the years that you didn't have—
Debbie Mills
Have insurance. Yes. Yeah.
So like I said, we didn't go get it done, and so now he is very sick.
Sarah Kliff
So what do you think about Obamacare as a law? I know it's not especially popular.
Debbie Mills
I have liked the fact that it gave us health insurance, you know, and I know some have not. Some have not been wanting to be forced to have it. But other ones, I know it has helped. I know a lot of people that have gotten it that did not have health insurance before.
Sarah Kliff
Did it change your opinion of President Obama at all? I know nothing about your politics at all, but if you did like him—
Debbie Mills
I’m not really a fan of his policies, but I like the fact that he gave me health insurance. And I have been worried about the fact that, you know, is it going to go away because, like I said, we're in a situation now where I can't afford to pay $1,200 a month. And I can't go without insurance because he has to have it in order, you know … a transplant could be a million dollars.
Sarah Kliff
Did you vote in the election this year?
Debbie Mills
Yes.
Sarah Kliff
And do you mind telling us who you supported?
Debbie Mills
We voted for Trump.
Sarah Kliff
So how did you decide to vote for him, since he's one of the people promising to repeal Obamacare?
Debbie Mills
Well … we liked him because he just seemed to be a businessman.
http://www.vox.com/2016/12/13/13901874/obamacare-trump-voter-health-insurance-repeal
CORBIN, Kentucky — Why would people vote for a presidential candidate who campaigned on taking away their health insurance?
Last week, we went to Corbin, Kentucky, to try to answer that question. It’s a small city in southeastern Kentucky, an area of the country that has seen huge declines in its uninsured rate — but also voted overwhelmingly for Trump.
You can read more about what we learned there in this story, but we also wanted to give you the transcripts of the conversations we had so the people we talked to could speak for themselves.
Debbie Mills is a 53-year-old furniture store owner in Bell County, an area of the state right on the Tennessee border. Earlier this year, doctors discovered that her husband has non-alcoholic cirrhosis. He now needs a transplant if he’s going to survive. Mills and her husband keep a bag packed, waiting for the doctors to call with news that a liver is available.
This all means that Mills really, really needs her health insurance. And she’s very grateful for the Affordable Care Act, because she couldn’t afford insurance before it was passed.
And yet she voted for Donald Trump. Until we spoke, she said she hadn’t taken Trump’s repeal threats seriously. As we talked, she started to process what his election might mean for her family’s future.
Here’s that conversation, edited for clarity and length.
Sarah Kliff
Can you walk through what your experience has been with Healthcare.gov?
Debbie Mills
The insurance we had before, we ended up paying about $1,200 a month for a family of five. It just kept going up each year.
So we ended up dropping it.
We didn't have health insurance. And we went for maybe two years with no insurance until this came out. We really didn't go to the doctor because it cost too much.
So for the past two years, we had the Healthcare.gov. It's made it affordable.
My husband ended up getting sick this year. He has non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver.
He's lost all this weight and all this muscle tone. Some people don't recognize him that he's known for years until he speaks and they recognize his voice.
But it's been great to have health insurance, because I couldn't imagine what it would be like to not have it with all the treatments and things that he's had to have done.
When we didn't have health insurance, we didn't go and get blood work and all that stuff done to be checked to see, you know, how his liver was doing.
He was taking medicines that could damage the liver for the cholesterol and all that stuff. But because it costs so much to get blood work done … [the doctor] wanted it done every three months, and he would do it maybe once a year.
Byrd Pinkerton
So just to be clear, he only got it once a year during the years that you didn't have—
Debbie Mills
Have insurance. Yes. Yeah.
So like I said, we didn't go get it done, and so now he is very sick.
Sarah Kliff
So what do you think about Obamacare as a law? I know it's not especially popular.
Debbie Mills
I have liked the fact that it gave us health insurance, you know, and I know some have not. Some have not been wanting to be forced to have it. But other ones, I know it has helped. I know a lot of people that have gotten it that did not have health insurance before.
Sarah Kliff
Did it change your opinion of President Obama at all? I know nothing about your politics at all, but if you did like him—
Debbie Mills
I’m not really a fan of his policies, but I like the fact that he gave me health insurance. And I have been worried about the fact that, you know, is it going to go away because, like I said, we're in a situation now where I can't afford to pay $1,200 a month. And I can't go without insurance because he has to have it in order, you know … a transplant could be a million dollars.
Sarah Kliff
Did you vote in the election this year?
Debbie Mills
Yes.
Sarah Kliff
And do you mind telling us who you supported?
Debbie Mills
We voted for Trump.
Sarah Kliff
So how did you decide to vote for him, since he's one of the people promising to repeal Obamacare?
Debbie Mills
Well … we liked him because he just seemed to be a businessman.
http://www.vox.com/2016/12/13/13901874/obamacare-trump-voter-health-insurance-repeal
