The Faces of Health Care: Don K.

"You saved my life. Literally."

A self-employed, self-made man, Don K. had carried a private catastrophic health plan for most of his life -- one that delivered a severe blow to his pocketbook. 

So when the Affordable Care Act went into effect in 2014, this native of Phoenix, Arizona enrolled through the Health Insurance Marketplace and got a new plan that, thanks to the ACA, covered preventive services. 

That January, just weeks after his new coverage went into effect, he stopped by the doctor for a general checkup. All tests came back positive, so when his doctor suggested a routine colonoscopy, he thought nothing of it -- he had no history of colon issues and he knew that his new ACA plan covered preventive services just like this.

And that's how the Affordable Care Act saved his life:

"A large tumor was found to be cancerous from the test and biopsy. Surgery was performed on May 22 and doctors removed 14 inches of my colon -- Stage 1. It had begun to spread, but since we got it early, it is gone and I am cancer free. Without "Obamacare," it would still be there, unbeknownst to me. Spreading."

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