美国国家公共电台 NPR Despite Health Care Worries, Trump Voters Don't Regret Their Choice

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

For one young mother in Pennsylvania, one thing has been on her mind - health insurance. Since last year's presidential election, we've been checking in with Jamie Ruppert and other Americans from all walks of life. She voted for Democrats 1 in the past. But like many others in her community, she voted for Donald Trump 2 this time. NPR's Jeff Brady went to Luzerne County, Pa., to meet up with her again.

JEFF BRADY, BYLINE 3: What really concerns Jamie Ruppert is her mother's health care. So for this visit, we met at her mom's house in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOG BARKING)

BRADY: That's her mom's dog who is not a fan of strangers. The dog seems OK with babies, though. Ruppert is holding her 3-month-old daughter. What Ruppert thinks is that health care is expensive. After her daughter, Berlin, was born, even with insurance through her husband's job, there were hundreds of dollars of out-of-pocket medical expenses. During the 2016 election, the Affordable 4 Care Act is one of the reasons Ruppert switched parties and voted for Trump.

JAMIE RUPPERT: The idea of Obamacare was great. But when I started seeing the premiums 5 people were getting quoted, no, I wasn't a fan of it.

BRADY: Ruppert is 34 and says she knows young people who refuse to sign up for expensive ACA policies, choosing instead to pay a penalty of at least $700 at tax time. Ruppert figured a businessman like Trump could strike a better deal to help young people.

She liked his repeal 6-and-replace campaign promise. But the president and the Republican-dominated Congress are struggling to make good on that pledge. Now Trump predicts the ACA marketplaces will fail. That worries Ruppert's mom, Linda McDermott.

LINDA MCDERMOTT: I had breast cancer in 1996. And I got yearly mammograms after that up until 2009.

BRADY: McDermott was on her husband's health plan through work but then lost her coverage 7 when he turned 65 and qualified 8 for Medicare. They couldn't afford a private policy for her back then, so she went without. Now she's 62. Her husband has died. And she qualifies for a subsidized ACA plan that costs less than $100 a month.

MCDERMOTT: I enrolled 9 in the Affordable Care Act in January of 2016. And in March, I had developed a basal cell carcinoma.

BRADY: McDermott says the insurance came just in time to pay for the skin cancer treatment.

MCDERMOTT: So all in all, it's been good for me, you know, I must say.

BRADY: Still, during the 2016 election, McDermott, like her daughter, switched from a history of picking Democrats to voting for Trump. She says his position on restricting immigration was the main reason. She wasn't as focused on health care when she cast her vote.

MCDERMOTT: Trump sang a good song. You know, we're going to repeal and replace. It will be done simultaneously 10. You know, it will be done within the same day, maybe within the same hour. You know, at the stroke of midnight, everything just, you know, changes.

RUPPERT: I don't think he thought it was going to be so hard. You know, it's easy to drop a business plan and follow through on it. But this is not just a simple business plan or budget plan or sales meeting. This is, you know, people's lives.

BRADY: Ruppert and her mom hope some form of affordable health insurance will remain available for just a few more years until McDermott qualifies for Medicare at 65. Despite this uncertainty 11 and a string of negative news about Trump and his administration, Ruppert remains 12 a supporter of the president.

RUPPERT: So I don't regret voting for Trump. I regret maybe believing as much and putting as much faith into a politician. And we all know that politicians will say whatever you want to hear to get into office.

BRADY: Trump still has more than three years in office. So Ruppert is waiting before delivering a final judgment 13 on her candidate's performance. Jeff Brady, NPR News.