To the Editor:

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has recently taken to Facebook to call a portion of her constituents "reprehensible" for opposing her support for the American Health Care Act. Perhaps the only thing more "reprehensible" than criticizing constituents who are afraid of losing their health coverage is voting for a bill that puts them in that position in the first place.

NY's 21st Congressional District is home to two of the poorest counties in the state of New York, yet Rep. Elise Stefanik voted for a bill that will make $880 billion dollars in cuts to the Medicaid program which will negatively affect rural and low-income families of the North Country.

Over 77,000 constituents of Rep. Elise Stefanik are at risk of losing their health coverage. Numerous others with pre-existing conditions will face astronomical out-of-pocket costs and limited benefits historically resulting in delayed or forgone care and thousands of dollars in medical debt among enrollees placed in "high-risk pools".

Rep. Elise Stefanik prides herself in the fact that she is the youngest woman elected to Congress but she voted for a bill that hurts women by classifying pregnancy, Caesarean sections, postpartum depression, domestic violence, and sexual assault as pre-existing conditions.

Over 30% of women have had a C-section, one in six women are victims of sexual assault, and 30% have experienced domestic abuse. Low-income expectant mothers who seek maternity coverage under the AHCA could face paying up to $17,000 in surcharges.

I urge everyone in the 21st Congressional District to re-think voting for Elise Stefanik in the 2018 election as well as to call her offices in Watertown, Plattsburg, Glens Falls, and Washington, DC.

Toni Kennedy

Potsdam