Dear Editor:

I am fortunate enough to have a job that has afforded me substantial healthcare coverage over the past 18 years, during which time I have faced several surgeries, including breast cancer and all that goes with it.

I know too many people who have not, nor do they now, have access to affordable healthcare, despite the fact that subsidy was available to the state of Maine. I have friends who simply do not see a doctor, even when they need to, because the outlay of money is just too much.

State Sen. Chris Johnson voted to expand Medicaid coverage to more than 70,000 uninsured Mainers, including 3,000 veterans, which would have ultimately contributed to the creation of many jobs and increased revenue for the state of Maine. Good healthcare practices are actually good for the economy. Chris believes that and he believes in investing in the people in his district.

As I approach retirement, and the time I will rely on Medicare for my healthcare needs, I anticipate that there will be gaps in coverage — it will never be as comprehensive as what I have worked for in the past. At issue might be prescriptions and medicine, not to mention the “what if” of a reoccurrence of cancer. Sen. Johnson also fought to restore programs to help the elderly pay for their medicine. 

In a climate where seniors, veterans and families with children fear where the next doctor’s appointment is coming from, how they can afford the prescription that sustains their good health and where our service men and women can get the assistance and care they need to return to their jobs, I really want my state senator to be of the mind where the citizens of the district are number one priority. I want to continue to feel secure in the fact that our elected officials believe that access to good health care is a right, not a privilege.

Sen. Chris Johnson demonstrates that belief and commitment every day in Augusta, which is why I urge everyone to reelect State Sen. Chris Johnson.

Daphne Lehava Stern
Bristol