Dozens gather for vigil for thousands who could lose health care coverage

SCRANTON — 240 battery powered candles rested on the steps of Scranton City Hall Sunday representing the 240,000 Pennsylvanians who could lose their health care coverage if Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits expire this year.

The candles were set up by organizers with local advocacy groups, Action Together NEPA and Pennsylvania Policy Center, along with SEIU, Pennsylvania’s largest union of health care workers and nurses, who gathered with roughly two dozen residents for a vigil to, “uplift families facing unaffordable insurance premiums and demand that Republicans return to the negotiating table on behalf of working-class constituents, not billionaires.”

“Each candle represents a life, a family and a story that matters,” said Dwayne Heisler, Action Together NEPA board preside