HONOLULU (AP) – In a modest church building in urban Honolulu, mother Mona Aliksa waited to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.
A small team of government and social service workers at folding tables helped Aliksa and others enroll in health plans Monday, despite uncertainty about whether President Donald Trump and a Republican-led Congress would completely repeal the law.
“I’m worried,” Aliksa said. “I have girls to take care of.”
Concerned about the dissolution of the Affordable Care Act, Hawaii lawmakers are introducing bills to merge into state law the consumer protections they consider the best parts of the federal program.
The bills seek to guarantee insurers don’t deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, institute lifetime maximums for coverage or strip some of the benefits such as pregnancy care that were mandated by the federal act.