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Bergen student talks in Capitol of Obamacare benefits

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David Weis of Glen Rock speaks at Capitol news conference as Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Angus King of Maine and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island look on.

A college student from Bergen County told of his fight with thyroid and lymphatic cancer during a news conference in the U.S. Capitol Tuesday as Democratic senators tried to highlight benefits that would be lost if the Affordable Care Act were repealed.

David Weis, a 22-year-old senior at Georgetown University, said his cancer is in remission, but he still needs annual checkups and regular medication, and without the 2010 law known as Obamacare, he would be facing an adulthood having to limit his choice of jobs because his pre-existing condition could have been used as a reason to deny individual coverage.

Weis, of Glen Rock, also speculated about what might have been.

“Had I not had health insurance from my mother’s company, I might not have gone to see my general practitioner who first felt the tumor during my yearly physical,” Weis said.

His mother’s plan previously covered him until he graduated college, but now can cover him until he reaches age 26.

“I am a statistic about cancer, but I’m also covered because of the Affordable Care Act,” said Weis, who plans to continue on his mother’s plan after graduation.

A poll released Tuesday showed a slim majority of 51 percent of New Jersey voters support repealing the health insurance law, while 44 percent oppose repeal. But senators said opposition to the law is because of the aggressive campaign against it, but polls also show the public supports the components of the law, including the elimination of the pre-existing condition exclusion and extension of parental coverage.

“The rhetoric surrounding health care reform, something both parties have been calling for, has been twisted around to make it seem like it’s a bad thing that sick people can afford quality health care, that young people can stay on their parent’s health plans for a few years after they graduate,” Weis said.


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