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ACA repeal recalls politics of maternity and infant care ... in the 1920s

It was no surprise that Republican members of the new Congress, sworn in just 10 days before, voted last week to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and they have vowed to slash or transform other health programs including Medicare and Medicaid. Obamacare may be new but much of the politics is not. Perhaps you have heard of the Maternity Act of 1921?

As we watch the new Congress attack existing health-care programs we should listen carefully for echoes of past attacks. We will certainly hear salutes to the needs of all the citizens or perhaps to children, and we will also hear pithy phrases about why the federal government should step back from funding health care. What we need to be hearing instead are the voices of citizens who benefit from health insurance programs and the accounts of experts who can demonstrate why the dollars spent on health services save lives and make a healthy society. Let's not go back to 1930.

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