As Baltimore City’s doctor, I have seen firsthand how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) supports my patients and their lives. This week, I shared my experience both as a physician and as a public health leader about the ACA in an op-ed in The Hill, A Health Commissioner's Perspective: The ACA Safeguards Life.

When I am in the ER, I see patients who are insured through ACA who no longer have to choose between life-saving care and having enough money for their family to survive. When I consider the discussions about the ACA, I think about the 40,000 people in our city who would be uninsured if not for the policy. My patients tell me that they’re scared they will no longer have access to this crucial support.

I was honored to be invited to share these experiences last Saturday during an event with Senators Cardin and Van Hollen, Congressmen Cummings, Hoyer, and Sarbanes, as well as patients and their family members to discuss the importance of healthcare for all.

I hope that all of us — policymakers, providers, and patients — can commit to one fundamental principle: that access to health is access to life, and it is up to all of us to safeguard life.

We must save lives both in the hospital setting as well as in communities across our city. On Thursday, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf, Deputy Director for Regulatory Programs in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Dr. Douglas Throckmorton, and Associate Commissioner for Public Health Strategy and Analysis Dr. Peter Lurie visited BCHD and met with providers across the city to discuss the national opioid epidemic and to hear from frontline health leaders on efforts to change opioid prescription practices.

BCHD has collaborated with the FDA on this issue over the past year. In August 2016, the FDA issued a “black box warning” on the concurrent prescription of opioids and benzodiazepines in response to the petition that we led with other local public health agencies across the country.

On Wednesday, we convened the first in a series of meetings with over 120 community members as a part of our efforts to develop a citywide strategy to address trauma. These meetings help us to better understand how residents experience trauma and ways that programs can be built from and by the community to ensure that residents receive access to the care and resources they truly need. While we have made progress in Baltimore, our work is far from over.

As always, thank you for your continued support in ensuring the health of our city’s residents and working with us to promote a healthier, more inclusive, and more equitable city.

Sincerely, 

Leana Wen, M.D., M.Sc.