Success of vaccines curbing COVID-19 is dependent on how many Americans are vaccinated

Opinion Echo published in the Cincinnati Enquirer Cincinnati.com,  newspaper: Vaccines don't stop pandemics, vaccinations do
Nicholas J. Vehr - Opinion contributor



We all know that mask wearing, hand washing, social distancing, avoiding crowds and more are vitally important preventative steps in slowing the spread of COVID-19. We also know these important steps won’t stop the pandemic. They can only slow it down so health care services are not overwhelmed.

COVID-19 vaccines are just around the corner and arriving faster than any pandemic vaccines in history. 

Recent good news from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have many of us encouraged and hopeful.

Yet, vaccine hesitancy is much too high. According to a news release from the COVID Collaborative, only one-third (34%) of Americans say they will definitely get vaccinated, while 86% say they believe that a vaccine will effectively curb the virus, a gap of 52%.

In the Black and Latinx communities, which have been disproportionately impacted by the virus, this survey indicated that only 14% of Black Americans and 34% of Latinx Americans have trust in vaccine safety.

There is a trust gap. Until it is bridged, vaccine efficacy will be limited, this pandemic will lumber along and thousands more will die.

The success of vaccines curbing COVID-19 is dependent on how many Americans are vaccinated; vaccines don’t stop pandemics, vaccinations do. Most experts project vaccines will be available for the majority of Americans in late spring and summer of 2020. Much smaller, high-risk or high-exposure subsectors of Americans will have access much sooner.

With the obvious trust gap, strategic, creative and ubiquitous communications are critical. These communications must build trust by educating and informing the right people, through the right channels at the right time and encourage the right action … get vaccinated!

Vehr Communications’ partner from Spokane (WA), DH Communications, shares these important three phases for strategic communications to build trust and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations.

Transition: Pacing content

For those organizations communicating about COVID-19, now is the time to start talking generally about vaccination safety and effectiveness. As winter turns to spring, you’ll be more of a trusted resource as specific information about specific vaccines becomes available.

It is important to keep reinforcing prevention communications (masks, social distancing, washing hands, small groups, etc.) at the same time. Remember, it will be months before vaccines are available to the general public.

Science: How to message

While it sounds dramatic, it’s true: This is life and death. 

Messaging about vaccines needs to be direct and unambiguous, based in science rather than emotions or morality. In plain and clear language, unpack the following:

• How vaccines work
• How vaccines were developed
• Up-to-date distribution plans

As our DH colleagues shared, messaging about vaccines also needs to connect back to people’s real lives. "Getting vaccinated means getting back on the path to a 'normal' life of kids going to school, giving grandma hugs and visiting restaurants once it is safe to do so."

Trust: Message carriers

One consequence of the unfortunate politicization of the pandemic is a distrust in government. What this means strategically is that politicians and, sadly, public health officials, cannot be the only voices.

Vaccination communications must be delivered by trusted message carriers*. These messengers can be very localized or national. The encouraging work of the Ad Council, which just launched a $50 million fund for a national COVID-19 education effort, and the COVID Collaborative, a who’s who of leading experts in health, education and the economy, are so important in this regard.

Bridging the trust gap is the single biggest obstacle to the success of the largest vaccine development and vaccination effort in the history of the world. It also is something we know how to address through fundamental, but significant, strategic communications. With national efforts just beginning, localities and states need to lean in aggressively.

America failed at managing the spread of COVID-19. Nearly 270,000 U.S. citizens have died already. Time is not our ally as we fight this virus. Time is not our ally as we try to rebuild trust and encourage all individuals to get vaccinated.

This may be the most important communications challenge our world has ever faced. Let’s get it right.

Nicholas J. Vehr is CEO of Vehr Communications.

*Nursing!  https://news.gallup.com/poll/274673/nurses-continue-rate-highest-honesty-ethics.aspx

Republicans should try the truth serum experiment - opinion echo

Ohio echo opinion published in the Cincinnati Enquirer: Truth serum for Republicans (Cincinnati.com) by Phil Heimlich

Unique experiment ~ conducted by the U.S. Department of Satire, Parody and Other Endangered Resources. 

Three leading members of the Republican Party were given a truth serum, which caused them to speak honestly and openly about the current political situation. Audio recordings were made of their comments, which have been transcribed below.

(WARNING: Satire can cause confusion, anger and outbursts of profanity among people who have an untreated humor deficiency or who suffer from degenerative partisan myopia.)

Satire serum response from Ohio Senator Rob Portman:

"I’ve got to find a way to sneak into the Capitol today without reporters seeing me. They have absolutely no conscience about asking me over and over why I have no conscience. How dare they describe me as spineless for not speaking out every time the president tells a little fib. Sure, I voted to impeach President Clinton for lying about sex, but Trump’s impeachment is different – all he did was offer a teeny-weeny bribe to the president of Ukraine – and for that they call me a hypocrite? Well, I resemble that remark. I’m not afraid to criticize the president. I have spoken out numerous times in a very loud whisper about his conduct. When Trump sided with Vladimir Putin against our intelligence agencies, I used tough words like 'inappropriate' to express my deeply held convictions. If I can just keep ducking into elevators or behind stairwells, they’ll be back to calling me a statesman again in no time."

Satire serum response from South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham:

"My greatest fear is that people can rise from the dead, because if my old pal John McCain ever comes back to life, he’ll kill me. I can hear him now: 'How can you suck up to that corrupt blowhard? You bootlicker – don’t you have any principles?'

Well, I have a simple answer to that question: NO.

Question for Senator Susan Collins:  What would Senator John McCain do? 

Listen, when you’re given a ride on Air Force One by the commander-in-chief, it’s a hell of a lot more fun than being a cranky, bitter old 'maverick.' And the ecstasy of 18 rounds on the links at Mar-a-Lago with the leader of the free world – it’s better than body-slamming Congressman Adam Schiff. Well, almost. I’m up for reelection next year and every time my special buddy in the White House sends out one of those catchy tweets to the base, I get shivers down my spine (not to mention lots of calls from the un-fake news at Fox). And when I come up with some creative excuse for one of Trump’s boneheaded foreign policy ideas to buy North Korea or move the White House permanently to Mar-a-Lago, he pats me on the head and says, 'Good job, Lindsey.' God bless America, it doesn’t get any better than that."

Satire Serum from Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan (#GymJordan):

"Did you see me at those hearings? My rope-a-dope* makes Muhammad Ali look like a punch-drunk loser with two left feet. I tied those witnesses up in pretzels like my opponents when I won the NCAA wrestling title. Donald Trump could get caught trading Ukraine to Putin for Hillary’s missing emails, and we’d let him off. They say when the facts are against you, argue the law; and when the law is against you, argue the facts – but when the facts and the law are against you, that’s when you call Jim Jordan. Just don’t call me consistent. I hope nobody at CNN finds those old news clips of me demanding the impeachment of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for – get this – withholding documents from Congress and failing to comply with congressional subpoenas. Back then, impeachment fit like my trademark rolled-up shirtsleeves – I called it 'the indispensable power that Congress has for holding government officials accountable to the American people.' But now that shirt does not fit and we must acquit."

Opinion of Phil Heimlich is a former assistant prosecutor, Cincinnati City councilman and Hamilton County commissioner, and currently a legal adviser to Republicans for the Rule of Law. @philheimlich

*...boxing tactic of pretending to be trapped against the ropes...

Ohio echo - release the unredacted Mueller Report

Echo opinion published in the Cincinnati Enquirer - learning how to read from the source material.

Americans paid for the Mueller Report. We want to read an un-redacted copy of it for the purpose of understanding the full context behind the very concerning information about the horrible and unlawful communications within the Donald Trump administration.

OHIO- As a student at Garrett Biblical Institute (a Methodist seminary) in the early 1960s, I was taught to be aware and beware of "proof texting."

Students were to avoid using proof texting in our own writing and preaching and to recognize proof texting in others, writing and preaching. Proof texting is the practice of extracting words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs from Bible passages so that they appear to support a message point that agrees with a belief one holds. By taking any content out of its context, you can "prove" the Bible supports whatever your belief bias might be.

It appears to me that our Attorney General William Barr has either not learned to "be aware," or is aware of what he has been doing in his commenting on special counsel Robert Mueller’s report. Americans must beware of how Barr is apparently proof texting the report for apparent political purposes. 

In fact, the proof will be in the context.

A while ago our church members chose to study (in small groups) a book by a prominent preacher. When I began to read the material in the book, I not only found extensive proof texting, but also something I call "version shopping." 

Version shopping, to me, is when someone shops around various translations of the Bible to find just the right wording for proof texting that has quotes which more exactly fit the point the the author wants to make.

Don’t get me wrong, I did not find the points the author wanted to make were in significant disagreement with my own belief sets. It was the methods used to support those points that troubled me.

In my opinion, our attorney general appears to be preparing to do some "version shopping" with the special counsel’s report. 

Barr has already given the appearance of proof texting by drawing conclusions about the "bottom line" of the report from pieces of statements he has quoted from the document. 

It appears to me that by releasing a redacted version of the Mueller report, Barr can further "shop" for more support for the conclusions he wants to establish.

As an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati, I studied classical Greek. I do not consider myself a linguist, but I have found those Greek studies to be very helpful while using my references to look at the underlying New Testament and Old Testament (Septuagint) Greek language. When reading a New Testament passage in various translations, knowing the Greek origins, helps me to better understand the New Testament authors' intent and identify which translations are better for understanding.

It also helps to recognize when translators are promoting a particular belief set. I have to rely on scholars of Hebrew for getting at the underlying Old Testament language. 

But my interest in biblical archaeology also helps with insights into the cultures using the languages.

The only way Congress and those of us in the public will know whether the attorney general’s conclusions are really supported by the information in the Mueller report is when we can read for ourselves the context of that information and what the original version says. I understand some information may need to be redacted from a version provided for public disclosure, but congressional committees with authority to see all the content should have the un-redacted original version and all supporting documentation.

Their ability to provide proper and constitutionally prescribed oversight requires it. Congress has to know the "underlying language" of the report to know how to interpret its meaning.

James F. Daiker lives in Monfort Heights and is a retired special education professional.

Donald Trump must learn the art of empathy- but he is too filled with rage to try

An echo opinion lesson from Crossroads Church and Undivided, published in the Cincinnati Inquirer:

Donald Trump delivered a hate filled speech in response to the 35 days of the government shutdown, whereby he kept 800,000 federal workers without paychecks. Trump enforced this evil deed, just so he could demand 5 billion dollars for  an expensive border wall, to stop illegal immigration into the US, from Mexico and Central America. Many of the migrants are legally seeking asylum.

Trump made a campaign promise that Mexico would pay for the border wall, but their government said "no y diablos no", to that stupid directive, from the failed US leader!  

Now, Trump has had to defend his ridiculous campaign promise with hate filled rhetoric delivered at the White House, today January 25, 2019, in a speech he had to give, because he wanted to stoke his racist base voters. Plus, he absolutely had to open the US government.

Nevertheless, the masses who follow Trump are obviously being mass hypnotized by his incendiary rhetoric. They needed to hear their dog whistle of hateful racism, directly from the cult hypnotist, himself.

Just yesterday, January 24, 2019, one of the ghouls who works for Donald Trump in the White House, Wilbur Ross, told the press that he couldn't understand why furloughed Federal Workers were unable to take out bridge loans from banks, to help them pay expenses until the government re-opens?  It was the modern example of how the fate of Marie Antoinette was sealed, when she was tragically quoted to say, "Let them eat cake", while the French people could not afford to buy bread.

Donald Trump will never learn the art of empathy.  If he had only said to the American people, "I know there are thousands of desperate immigrants trying to immigrate to America because we are a great country. We want to help support legal immigration. I want to work with the Congress to bring about meaningful immigration reform."  Well, that was what he should have said but, instead, he spewed hateful racist rhetoric, like a fountain of lava was steaming out of his foul mouth.

Where is the empathy for 800,000 Americans who needed support during a 35 day government shutdown, whereby virtually nothing was accomplished? Trump did not get his way, because the tantrum he created did not work. As Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, she raised five children, so she knows a tantrum when she sees one. Trump is an angry man today. Speaker Pelosi must be complimented for her political expertise, but don't trust anything Donald Trump says, especially when he's an angry man. 

Somebody must teach Donald Trump the art of empathy, as described in this letter to the editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Empathy. The act of feeling with people.
This is a word we use quite often in our teachings through UNDIVIDED, a six-week spiritual journey that brings people together of different races and life backgrounds to have meaningful conversations – often leading to healing within our (increasingly!) alienated communities.

As Greater Cincinnati is in the national, and even international, spotlight for an interaction between Covington Catholic High School students, (who confronted) a Native American elderly man, and members of the Hebrew Israelites, I believe empathy is needed now more than ever.

I have watched the short video that went viral on Saturday, between the Native American and the Catholic school students; and I have watched the longer videos that were made public on Sunday. 

I don’t pretend to have all the facts, but I can tell you one thing I am certain: America is growing increasingly divided in the way we handle and communicate discussions about race, ideology and faith.

In our world of viral snippets, we have lost our ability to listen before jumping to assumptions and filling in the story ourselves. 

We like to stay in our echo chambers, surrounded by people and sources that tell us what we want to hear. But when we listen to people’s stories with empathy, it changes who we are and, by extension, becomes a revolutionary act that brings connection in the place of fear, hatred, and division.

Empathy is easy to say, but it can be difficult to practice. 

Dr. Maya Angelou

I think Maya Angelou (1928-2014) said it best: “We all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.”

As America debates what happened this past weekend, it’s my hope that we do this through a lens of empathy for all who were involved. And, in 2019, let’s make Cincinnati (and, by extension, the United States) known for the way we empathize with people we don’t fully understand.

Chuck Mingo is the Oakley campus pastor for Crossroads Church and leader of Undivided, a racial reconciliation program that has seen more than 3,000 participants from Northern Kentucky and Ohio.

Stop the cruel removal of children from immigrant parents ~ Ohio echo

Cincinnati Enquirer echo ~ letter to the editor calls for humanitarian consideration in support of immigrant children.

"I write to oppose this practice of separating children from their parents as they enter the U.S."

Tragic immigration stories made worse by the cruel separation of families

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has adopted a new policy of removing children from parents when they illegally cross the border. Immigration lawyers say the government’s stated number of 700 removed children is growing rapidly and some of these children are reported to have already spent months away from their parents. 

Plans are being considered now to house children on U.S. military bases to handle the increasing number of children who are removed from their parents.

Officials defend the new policy as necessary to deter would-be immigrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. I write to oppose this practice of separating children from their parents as they enter the U.S.

The science is clear that adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs, profoundly impact brain and child development. Removing a child from a nurturing parent is a strong ACE and this new policy is likely to have both short and long-term harmful consequences for the child. In addition to the immediate cruelty of separation, many children will experience changes in brain neuropathways, epigenetic profiles and immune system dysfunction. 

These changes result in life-long behavioral, mental and physical health disorders.

Our government’s dehumanization of immigrants and the persistent characterization of them as threats to “our” way of life, create fertile ground for treating innocent children with intolerable cruelty and causing them harm. This practice must stop now before we permanently damage the lives of untold numbers of children. Allowing children to remain with loving parents can prevent the toxic stress caused by ACEs they likely experience during the journey from their home country and while they are in detention.

Robert Shapiro, MD

Russia ~ Failure of Speaker Ryan and Senator McConnell

Failing on Russia will be the legacy of the 115th Congress ~ echo opinion published in the Cincinnati Enquirer:

An excellent analysis ~ 

"worth pointing out that the party that led the charge for a multi-year, multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded effort to turn the Benghazi tragedy into a conspiracy now cannot find the bandwidth to seriously investigate an attack on our sovereignty."

Ryan Cahill opinion ~ Congress has tragically failed on Russia

Cincinnati.com ~ By Ryan Cahill

The Justice Department indicted 13 Russians and three Russian companies for interfering in the 2016 election. They stand accused of organizing pro-Trump rallies, stealing Americans’ identities, and leveraging social media to sow discord among a polarized electorate. A lawyer for former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates, who was indicted on a litany of charges in October, has pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators. 

Meanwhile, Gates and his former boss, Paul Manafort, who served as Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016, were charged (again) by the Justice Department in a sealed indictment. All of this happened in the past few weeks.

This is the new normal for the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and the Trump campaign’s potential involvement in the same. Where many media outlets and some elected officials have approached these issues of foreign interference, high-level collusion, and obstruction of justice with the appropriate seriousness and concern, Republican leaders in Congress have failed.

This ineptitude is not a new development. Before election day in 2016, when the intelligence community came to the conclusion that Russia was intervening in our election on behalf of then-candidate Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to participate in a bipartisan statement condemning such behavior. More recently, House Speaker Paul Ryan has resorted to verbal jujitsu when asked about the president’s behavior as it relates to the Russia investigation, calling the legitimate attempts to safeguard our democracy a “political distraction.” 

Not to be outdone, however, is Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Devin Nunes, who is using his power to throw chaff at the Mueller investigation with cherry-picked and misleading information – all in the face of objections from the FBI and Trump’s Justice Department. Nunes also likes to joke about the threat of Russian actors on Twitter.

When it comes to legislative action, the paralysis is even more alarming. Last summer, the Senate and the House voted overwhelmingly (something they hardly do on anything lately) to impose tougher sanctions on Russia in the wake of their brazen election interference. 

Trump, facing the threat of a veto-override, issued a damning statement (that included a boast about the value of the Trump Organization), signed the bill out of public view, and then simply refused to enforce it.

Highlighting Republican hypocrisy on national security issues has become the equivalent of investing in your 401K: After the first few payments, it’s not sexy or interesting, and the marginal benefit hardly increases, but it’s always necessary. 

So it’s worth pointing out that the party that led the charge for a multi-year, multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded effort to turn the Benghazi tragedy into a conspiracy now cannot find the bandwidth to seriously investigate an attack on our sovereignty. During my time working in the House of Representatives, while President Obama was in office, I endured countless speeches centered on executive overreach and our “lawless president.” Now, when the president refuses to enforce a bipartisan law that they just passed, there’s no outrage.

This is the behavior of a group of individuals who are guided by the principle of staying in power, instead of using it for the public good. Considering that the vast majority congressional districts are safe from a challenge from anywhere except their own party, members of Congress are incentivized to placate their fringe constituents first and ask questions relevant to national security later. Unfortunately, this is a zero-sum game: The president’s insistence to dismiss Russian threats to our elections has left us woefully vulnerable to future interference – and it’s the Republicans’ failure in Congress to hold him accountable or protect institutions that ensure our democracy.

This will be the legacy of the 115th Congress. When Robert Mueller, a Republican once appointed as FBI Director by George W. Bush, completes his investigation, those results will be the metric by which to measure the concurrent congressional investigations. It’s likely that there will be plenty of daylight between what the Republican-led efforts to get to the bottom of this and Mueller’s final report look like, and rest assured the usual suspects will do everything they can to downplay it until the next news cycle.

History will undoubtedly reflect the abject failure of Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell to respond adequately to this assault on our democracy. In the meantime, only the results of this fall’s elections will determine whether they can get away with it.

Ryan Cahill is the digital manager at Truman National Security Project and is a native of Ohio. Follow him on Twitter @rwcahill.

Flawed tax cuts don't help middle class - echo opinion

Cincinnati Inquirer letter to the editor- Norbert A. Nadel 

Long-awaited tax cut for business, but bad for mortgage deductions

Congress passed a long-awaited "tax cuts for the rich" that might help encourage business expansion and reduce taxes (temporarily) for most taxpayers who do not chose to itemize their federal tax returns.

Nevertheless, the legislation has one great flaw that discourages home ownership by substantially limiting the ability of homeowners to deduct mortgage interest and property taxes when filing their federal tax returns.

This substantial limitation on allowing homeowners to deduct real estate taxes and mortgage interest on their homes is especially hurtful in Cincinnati and Hamilton County, where property taxes are especially high due to numerous and high tax levies, some of which are duplicates of other levies.
In my opinion, this unfairness to homeowners was caused by the so-called “budget hawks” in Congress who are in reality, free spenders. 

In addition, there are those in Congress who sing the same old tired tune that any tax relief for taxpayers is a tax cut for the rich.

It’s time to clean the swamp! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Maine Writer ~ it's hard to imagine how the Republican tax cuts for the rich plan will improve the financials of middle class wage earners when they will be unable to itemize their federal tax deductions.  Their taxes will increase if they can't itemize deductions for interest, taxes, charitable giving or health care expenses.

A Christian view on Republican tax cuts for the rich

This "echo" is a re-blogged letter to the editor, published in the Cincinatti Enquirer opinion section. Honestly, I'm glad to read a Christian point of view about the Republican "tax cuts for the rich", whereby the widening economic disparities between rich and poor are finally exposed. (From my cruising through the nation's newspapers' opinion pages.)

Submitted to the Cincinnati Enquirer by Rev. Alan Dicken (@AlanDicken1). He is the senior pastor at Carthage Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Earlier this month, Senator Rob Portman took to the pages of this paper to extol the virtues of so-called “tax reform.” Since then, more details have emerged about the Republican tax plan, and it’s clear “reform” isn’t quite the right word for it. 

Rather, it seems like an exclusive invitation to a small table with a large feast.

Like the House bill, the Senate bill puts more money in the pockets of super wealthy on the false promise that somehow average Americans will benefit. The bill cuts the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent with more than one-third of the benefit going to the top 1 percent. It also makes deep cuts to the estate tax that will benefit the heirs of the richest 0.2 percent of estates, who would get a tax cut of $4.4 million. The bill lowers the tax rate for business income and individual rates, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. That’s a large helping of tax relief for those who seem to have more than enough.

Even the provision GOP senators tout as a break for working families – an expansion of the Child Tax Credit – tilts towards the most fortunate. Under the bill, a married couple with two kids earning $500,000 would receive a $4,000 credit. Meanwhile, a single mother with two kids making $14,500 would get $75, according to CBPP. Another healthy dose of assistance to those with plenty.

The Senate bill eliminates Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, which keeps health care premiums down and stabilizes the market. Republican senators are banking on people dropping out of the subsidized marketplace to help pay for their tax cuts. When younger, healthier people leave, premiums will go up, and sick people who need care could find themselves unable to afford insurance. An abundance of servings of care to those who have sufficient care already.

I’m not concerned about this bill as an economist, policymaker or politician. I am a faith leader. My faith tells me a lot of things about how the poor and oppressed should be treated. They are to be lifted up, cared for, clothed, fed, and treated with dignity and respect that is deserving of all of God’s children.

Unfortunately, we have many in our community who are poor and oppressed. Cincinnati’s overall child poverty rate for children under 6 is 52 percent – one of the highest in the nation. For black children, it is 74 percent. The bill will widen the gulf between the haves and the have-nots and strip away at programs that lift up our neighbors.

This bill doesn’t feed the hungry, it stuffs those who are already full. This bill doesn’t clothe the naked, it adorns the opulent. It doesn’t treat the poor with dignity and respect, instead, this bill would add $1.5 trillion to the deficit over 10 years. Which means likely budget cuts to programs like federal food aid, Medicaid, Pell Grants, job training programs and more.

Portman has spoken openly about his Christian faith. In our Christian tradition, there is a scripture in Luke 14:12-14 in which Jesus tells us, “When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” Who is really getting invited to the bountiful banquet provided by this bill? As far as I can tell, the most vulnerable don’t have a seat at the table.

I applaud Portman’s efforts to combat human trafficking, to stem the drug epidemic, and when he expanded the table to advocate for LGBTQ equality. If this tax bill passes, we might not have the resources needed to give a struggling addict treatment through Medicaid. Or help a victim of human trafficking get the job training she needs to start a new life. Portman, think about your neighbors in Cincinnati. Expand your table. Invite more of God’s children to the banquet.

How Affordable Care Act helps low income with co-pays deductibles

A letter to the Editor in the Cincinnati Enquirer from Ariel Miller is a Kennedy Heights, Cincinnati, resident.

"As you can see from the above example, the law helps solve – not cause – that problem. If the president and House undercut the law by defunding the cost-sharing subsidies, millions of working Americans will no longer be able to afford to use the health care they need."

A constituent holds up signs calling for repair of the Affordable Care Act as U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., speaks.

House Republicans are suing to stop the federal government from paying subsidies that substantially cut the deductibles and out-of-pocket costs of 7 million low-wage Americans with Obamacare silver plans. 

Donald Trump, who promised to cover all Americans when he campaigned for president, threatens to join them in attacking these life-saving subsidies.

As a volunteer Certified Application Counselor in Cincinnati, I meet many working people who are able to get the care they need because of the cost-sharing these Republicans want to end. Here’s a real example of how much difference this makes.

Recently, I tried to help a home health aide who declined the insurance provided by her job because her share of the premiums – $1,040 – was too high for her to afford on her income of $17,599. The employer-provided plan had a deductible of $5,000. The out-of-pocket maximum was $6,500. Even after paying $1,040 in premiums, she wouldn’t have been able to afford to use this plan because of the huge deductible.

Here’s how a 63-year-old woman making $17,599 would benefit from the premium assistance and cost-sharing available through the least expensive Obamacare silver plan available here in Cincinnati:

Her annual premium: $582 (only $48.50 a month), compared to $1,040
Deductible: $500 (instead of $5,000)
Out-of-pocket maximum: $900 (instead of $6,500)

Senator Rob Portman constantly blames the Affordable Care Act for high deductibles and co-pays.

Unfortunately, the home health aide I met that day is not eligible for either premium assistance or cost-sharing held under the ACA because her employer offers insurance. The law was written thriftily to aid low-income people whose jobs don’t offer insurance.

Congress could improve the ACA and benefit millions.

Congress could help working Americans by allowing people whose wages are below 250 percent of the poverty level to shop on the marketplace to get premium assistance and cost-sharing even if their employer offers coverage. What’s the point of a plan you pay into but can’t afford to use?