By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com
While the Affordable Care Act has been one of the most dominant issues in the presidential campaign, it became a bit of a local issue at Wednesday night's political forum at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
And as with the national platform, Democrats defended what is commonly known as "Obamacare," while Republicans argued against the legislation.
House Democratic incumbent Kathy Wolfe Moore (D-36) said the ACA would be more popular if constituents were more aware of certain aspects of the law.
"Most people know very little about the Affordable Care Act," she said. "It prohibits you from being (denied) because of pre-existing conditions. It allows children to stay on their parents' insurance policy."
Shawn Shipp, Moore's Republican challenger in the district, said his experience as a paralegal helps lead him to oppose Obamacare.
"My experience is working and talking with doctors on a daily basis," Shipp said. "It sounds good...but we will not have doctors available. I don't support the Affordable Care Act. We don't need to throw out our system."
Obamacare also came up during the panel featuring Kansas Sen. David Haley (D) and Republican challenger Joe Ward.
"I strongly support Obamacare," Haley said. "For citizens in the Fourth District in Wyandotte County, it's a quality of life issue. We need to expand our system."
Ward, who previously worked for the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, said the bill was unaffordable.
"It's unaffordable for this country," Ward said. "It's going to run our doctors out of business. I do not believe Kansas should sign off on it."
