With the presidential election just over two weeks away, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has teamed up with filmmaker Jesse Dylan in a video encouraging people to vote only for Congressional candidates that support the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare (watch below).

In the video, McCready voices his support for the Affordable Care Act because of his personal experience in dealing with pre-existing conditions. McCready suffers from Crohn’s Disease. “Before the Affordable Care Act, people with conditions like mine could be denied coverage. I know. I was denied twice, even being a member of a famous rock band,” said McCready.

“The people who don’t have those kind of resources, they are stuck, they have no choices. But now, we can’t be denied insurance because of something we can’t change—our illnesses. We have choices, we can be insured, and we can focus on having a life.”

The two also have issued a joint statement about the issue. Part of the letter explains why they support the Affordable Care Act:
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“The insurance industry’s structure left 129 million Americans – including 17 million children – at risk of being denied health insurance because they have a pre-existing medical condition. Millions of Americans tried to buy health care, but were turned away or charged more because they were sick (or had been sick), and therefore didn’t look like a good risk. Millions more Americans were unable to afford insurance, or exceeded their lifetime treatment caps, or experienced other difficulties that left them uninsured and without access to affordable health care when they needed it most.

Business isn’t a bad thing. But the business of health insurance hasn’t been a good thing in America. Not for anyone with a chronic illness, or with a spouse who got sick and lost their job, or for a gravely ill child and his or her parents. President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) recognized these shortcomings and rectified them. ObamaCare does for health care what business could not or would not; it prohibits discrimination against those of us with pre-existing conditions. It ensures everyone, regardless of their employment status or health care situation, access to quality insurance and medical care. Everyone. Period.”

McCready has started a petition on SignOn.org where people can join him to pledge their vote for candidates that support the Affordable Care Act.

-loudwire.com

Watch Mike McCready in the Video ‘Life Is a Pre-Existing Condition’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciUJhM1FYKI