Up Close: The future of ObamaCare

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Monday, November 28, 2016
Up Close: The future of ObamaCare
Bill Ritter talks with Michael Sparer, chair of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Donald Trump wants to repeal and dismantle most of ObamaCare.

His campaign rallying cry was so powerful it helped get him elected president.

But what would it really mean to dismantle and end the Affordable Care Act? What would it mean to take 20 million Americans off health care and send them to the emergency room for every flu, stomach virus - and cancer treatment they need?

This week - important questions and important answers.

Joining us is Michael Sparer, chair of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

Also this week, the statistics about Alzheimer's are simply stunning, in the bad way.

The disease is now the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S. and the 5th leading cause for those over 65.

By 2050, without a cure or effective treatments, it's estimated someone in the United States will develop the disease every 33 seconds.

With us are Lou-Ellen Barkan, President and CEO of CaringKind, known until last year as the Alzheimer's Association of New York City, and Dr. Hillel Grossman, a psychiatrist and clinical director of the Mount Sinai Memory and Aging Center.

Bill Ritter talks with Lou-Ellen Barkan, President and CEO of CaringKind, and Dr. Hillel Grossman, of the Mount Sinai Memory and Aging Center.

We've talked about caring for those with Alzheimer's, but the act of care giving is not limited to just dementia.

Of the 20 million people living in the Tri-state, nearly 4 and a half million of them are caring for a loved one - helping them live independently at home, working without pay but with plenty of consequences..

Joining us are Beth Finkel, the AARP New York State Director, and Peggy Hernandez, a New York City resident who cares for her husband.

Bill Ritter talks with Beth Finkel, the AARP New York State Director, and Peggy Hernandez, a New York City resident who cares for her husband.