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Rep. Moore Reveals Cancer Diagnosis and How the ACA Saved Her Life

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In a televised interview, Moore revealed her cancer diagnosis and where she believes she’d be if it weren’t for former President Barack Obama’s signature piece of legislation which allows her to afford the treatments and necessary medication to fight the deadly disease.

Published

6 years ago

February 2, 2019

Oakland Post

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore has made a strong and very personal case for lawmakers to keep the Affordable Care Act.

In a televised interview, Moore revealed her cancer diagnosis and where she believes she’d be if it weren’t for former President Barack Obama’s signature piece of legislation which allows her to afford the treatments and necessary medication to fight the deadly disease.

“If I had to pay $15,000 a month for this medicine, I’d be here writing my obituary perhaps instead of talking to you,” Moore told MSNBC in an interview this week.

She said her oral medication, Imbruvica, helps to keep her in remission.

Without the insurance coverage, she’d be on the hook for $15,000 per month.

Prior to taking Imbruvica, Moore said she had intravenous therapy twice a month at a whopping $20,000.

“The GOP is always talking about the costs of the ACA: the cost of protecting pre-existing conditions, the cost of essential health benefits, the cost of the individual mandate,” Moore said.

“But what about the value of life? The lives of your kids? Your parents? That’s the core of this debate,” she said, adding that she’s “alive today because of comprehensive insurance that covers most” of the money in medication costs per month she now needs.

First diagnosed last summer with small lymphocytic lymphoma – a non-Hodgkin lymphoma where the cancer originates in the lymphatic system – Moore said the disease is manageable because she caught it early and she takes her medicine every day.

After her MSNBC appearance, Moore spoke before the House Ways and Means Committee in which members held a hearing on protecting those with pre-existing conditions – a major component of the Affordable Care Act which President Donald Trump and most Republicans have fought against.

Moore and other Democrats, who’ve now taken control of the House, have said they want to reverse the GOP’s decision to take away the individual mandate in the health care law.

A decision late last year by a Texas judge who ruled the individual mandate unconstitutional, is currently being appealed and Moore said she hopes Congress will act to protect the law.

In their attempt to maintain the law that’s commonly known as Obamacare, Democrats have also pushed a “Medicare-for-all” proposal that NPR noted has gained in popularity.

Several Democratic presidential hopefuls are getting behind the idea, according to NPR which cited California Sen. Kamala Harris who said her aim would be to eliminate all private insurance.

“Who of us has not had that situation, where you’ve got to wait for approval and the doctor says, well, ‘I don’t know if your insurance company is going to cover this,’” Harris said during a CNN Town Hall event. “Let’s eliminate all of that. Let’s move on,” she said.

Harris was a co-sponsor of a 2017 bill written by Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I-Vermont), that would have created a national, single-payer health system, eliminating the private insurance system.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., both presidential hopefuls, also co-sponsored the Sanders Bill, according to NPR.

Everyone would get a Medicare card and doctors would have to sign annual agreements to participate.

For Moore, that would be ideal, particularly for those who suffer with life-threatening illnesses like cancer.

“The mere suggestion that it could be cancer was anathema to me because nobody ever wants to hear the C-word,” Moore said.

“All of the while that I was going through the diagnosis and the care that I was getting, I thought about the number of people that I knew who die needlessly from cancer because they didn’t get early diagnosis.”

Moore continued:

“It’s our job as legislators to ensure that no American has to choose between seeking treatment & providing for their families.

“I personally know people who marched into the emergency room two weeks before they died because they didn’t have health insurance. I am just a grain of sand on a beach.”

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Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

7 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

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Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.