Letter: Sanford’s true stand is alarming

I was dismayed at U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford’s response to the Rev. Rick Klotz at the recent town hall meeting in Sun City, as reported in this paper.

When asked about the possibility of health care for all people in this country, Sanford noted his “no” vote last month opposing the House Republican leadership’s proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare). This response by Sanford was disingenuous.

The reason the congressman was prepared to vote “no” on the Republican leadership’s proposal was because it did not repeal enough of the components of the Affordable Care Act, such as repealing the prohibition on insurance companies denying coverage to someone with a preexisting condition.

Sanford has introduced his own version of repeal and replace, which is much more minimal than the one proposed by House Speaker Paul Ryan, and would have the impact of denying affordable insurance to most of the 32,000 individuals currently receiving their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act in the 1st Congressional District of South Carolina.

Rather than giving solace to the Rev. Klotz as Sanford stated, the congressman’s actions are alarming as they would have moved the country — and South Carolina — even further in retreat from providing affordable, quality care to all Americans.

This story was originally published April 20, 2017 at 1:05 PM with the headline "Letter: Sanford’s true stand is alarming."