In late summer 2017, unfortunately, I was diagnosed with bone cancer. We made the tough decision to sell our business so that my wife would be able to spend as much time with me as possible during my ongoing treatment. I have worked hard and paid my taxes all my life. Because we have always been frugal, rarely taking vacations, buying used cars, etc., we are fortunate to have more financial resources than most Americans. But, even so, we wouldn’t have been able to meet this challenge if not for our health insurance.

We purchase our insurance through the Affordable Care Act, the only way we could afford health insurance. In other words, the ACA is keeping me alive and my family afloat. We haven’t had to sell our home. We haven’t had to loot our modest retirement savings. We haven’t had to rack up obscene credit card debt. We haven’t had to file for bankruptcy. We are very lucky. But, if the current administration and its allies in Congress dismantle the ACA, there is a real risk that everything we have worked for all our lives will be taken from us.

Jared Golden has promised to protect the ACA. His opponent, incumbent Rep. Bruce Poliquin, wants to get rid of it. For this reason, I ask my friends in the 2nd District to consider voting for Mr. Golden. My life and the lives of many others like me depend on the continued availability of affordable health insurance.

Keith Dunlap

Portland