I have been a health care provider at Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma for the past seven years. During that time, I was able to see the positive impact that the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as it is known, had on the community.

I went from seeing three to five patients a day with no health care coverage to fewer than two to three a week.

I know that the current health care system can be frustrating and is far from perfect, but the changes have been for the better.

Every day now I read about the incoming Congress and administration’s plans to repeal Obamacare (with vague plans to replace it), in addition to plans to defund and privatize Medicare and Medicaid.

It is hard not to be afraid of what these changes would mean for my patients and the community. I, personally, take care of hundreds of people who would be affected by these changes, and the results would be devastating, if not fatal.

I urge people to contact federal representatives and senators to tell them not to repeal the ACA, and not to cut funding to Medicare and Medicaid.

Mary Ellen Biggerstaff, Doctor of Nursing Practice

Olympia