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Karen Heck is a former mayor of Waterville and co-creator of Hardy Girls Healthy Women.

The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill last July will take billions of dollars out of the pockets of working people for years to come.

One of the most significant ways in which that will be accomplished will be by deep cuts to Medicaid, and the expiration of health insurance subsidies, which are predicted to lead to the closure of hospitals and clinics. Hospitals like Northern Light Healthcare’s in Waterville and services like those provided by MaineGeneral’s Edmond Ervin Pediatric Clinic in Augusta.

The closure of Northern Light in Waterville left 309 employees struggling to find jobs and 5,000 patients struggling to find primary care providers. Even before closing, the hospital had discontinued women’s reproductive healthcare services and its birthing unit.

Last year’s closing of the Edmund Ervin Pediatric Clinic in Augusta worsened years-long waitíng lists for children needing a disability diagnosis.

The money saved, or better described I think as stolen from those services, will then be transferred as tax cuts to line the already full pockets of the wealthy.

The person who cast a key vote in moving this bill forward was none other than Sen. Susan Collins.

We deserve good healthcare paid for with our tax dollars. Don’t believe the Republicans when they yell “socialized medicine.” Every one of those Republican legislators at both the state and the federal level gets his or her healthcare largely paid for with our tax dollars but you don’t hear them complaining that it’s socialized. They will, though, say they are working for us so they deserve that benefit.

I say, so do we.

I had been living with my partner for 17 years when he decided to leave his job to start a small winery and distillery. In order for him to afford health insurance, we needed to get married so he would be covered by my employer’s plan. What a ridiculous situation.

Imagine the economic potential that would be unleashed if people could afford to start a small business without worrying about the astronomical cost of health insurance or healthcare if they should get sick.

For the past 40 years, I have been working for universal healthcare and for 40 years, I’ve heard elected officials say we can’t afford it.

I don’t believe them. I believe we can and I believe we deserve it.

If we stop paying for useless wars and billionaire tax breaks, we would have plenty of money to provide it. We could even afford to feed, clothe, and house people in addition to providing healthcare for all.

What a concept.

Take a minute and visualize just what Maine could look like with someone who will fight for us instead of the billionaires.

It’s a pretty amazing thought and there are thousands of us who are focusing on that vision. Our vision is one of inclusion, of taking care of each other when we are sick, of hospitals located near us, providing services that we need, with health providers who have time to listen to us, and health insurance that doesn’t first deny, then bankrupt us. Don’t be distracted by the millions of dollars being sent to Maine by megadonors who don’t want us to have the same healthcare our tax dollars are providing for Sen. Susan Collins.

In the richest nation in the world we can have, and we deserve, universal healthcare. Remember that when any politician asks for your vote and don’t give it to them unless they agree and tell you how they are going to work to achieve it.