How repealing ACA may impact local residents

New data from the Valley-Wide Health Survey is showing an increase in the amount of people with medical insurance. With President Donald Trump looking to repeal the Affordable Care Act, some health officials fear that number could go down. KESQ News Channel 3’s Jeremy Chen reports more about how this could impact community members, and what local health officials are saying about it.

“It is pretty scary because without health insurance you pretty much can’t do much by yourself,” said Veronica Cervantes, a student at California State University of San Benardino’s Palm Desert campus.

The CSUSB student said that many of her neighbors are afraid their health insurance might be taken away. That’s because President Donald Trump has already began rolling back the Affordable Care Act.

Local health officials said they have seen the ACA already help decrease the amount of uninsured adults in the Coachella Valley by 20 percent.

Glen Graymand with the Borrego Health Foundation said, “We’ve seen the trend of those who are not covered suddenly becoming covered under the ACA.”

That trend was based on data from a survey taken valley-wide through health assessment research and communities. The survey gave a snapshot of how the Coachella Valley was doing health wise. Health officials said it remains to be seen what replacement there will be for the ACA, but they hope that coverage will continue for those that rely on the ACA.

The results from the valley-wide survey are taken every three years. The first survey results were released in 2007.