Make wishtv.com your home page

Massive rally held at Statehouse to save ‘Obamacare’

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH ) – A massive rally was held inside the Indiana Statehouse Sunday to save the Affordable Care Act.

It was staged in conjunction with other rallies around the country.

Those who attended said they don’t want the law to go away. They said there’s too much on the line to get rid of it now.

“I think sometimes, we despair a little bit, but being here today is really energizing to be talking to people in line and saying a lot of us are feeling this way,” said Mark Hendrix, who waited in line for over an hour to get into the rally.

The list of speakers included those with preexisting conditions, members of the LGBT community, local activists and elected officials.

“If we allow Congress to get away with dismantling the ACA, then we have lost our rights as U.S. citizens,” said Congressman Andre Carson.

Some 20 million Americans have received healthcare under the Affordable Care Act, 200,000 of them here in Indiana under the Healthy Indiana Plan or HIP 2.0.

“The Affordable Care Act, unlike what you’ve heard in this building on occasion, completely pays for HIP 2.0. All 200,000 (insured Hoosiers) lose their coverage,” said Sen. Joe Donnelly.

Since the new Congress was sworn in, steps have been taken to repeal Obamacare. Republicans have long said the law is hurting job growth and that it’s not affordable. However Democrats and supporters say repealing it without a replacement would be detrimental.

“Especially people who have disabilities who really need the affordable healthcare act and imagine taking it down? There’s nothing they can rely on,” said Ayden Cleaves, who attended the rally.

“Today, we stand at a precipice. What we accomplished is worth fighting for. But it is up to us to resist this backward march,” said Zach Adamson, the vice president of the Indianapolis City-County Council.

After the rally an Indianapolis union held a phone bank.

Workers called homeowners urging them to call their representative to vote no on repealing President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.

Sunday’s rally will be followed up with another rally later this month.

A spokesman for Sen. Todd Young said the senator intends to vote to repeal Obamacare, but said he would also work to write a new law that “won’t be disruptive to Hoosier families.”

Never miss another Facebook post from WISH-TV