VOA慢速英语:Poor in US Worried About Loss of ObamaCare

Dr. Monica Vohra says her patients are often worried when they come to see her at a free medical center in Washington, D.C.
莫妮卡·沃赫拉医生说，她的病人去华盛顿免费医疗中心找她看病时，总是很担忧。

But she says her worries have increased recently.
但她说最近他们的担忧愈发强烈。

Most of Dr. Vohra’s patients are low-income, members of minority groups and are mainly immigrants to the United States.
沃赫拉的大多数病人都是低收入、少数族裔群体、以及来到美国的移民。

I think the language that’s out there has been disturbing.Some of it has re-traumatized some of our folks who have been traumatized by previous policies.There’s a sense of feeling unsafe and insecure.
“在这里，到处都是不安的声音。一些人因为之前的政策曾经受到创伤，如今又再一次被伤。这里充斥着不安全感。”

Dr. Vohra says many of her patients are worried that they will lose their health insurance if they received coverage through the Affordable Care Act.That law is often called ObamaCare.
沃赫拉医生说大多数病人都担心，他们会失去之前平价医疗法案带来的医疗保险。该法案也被称为奥巴马医改计划。

She says critical statements by President Donald Trump about ObamaCare make her patients worry they will lose their insurance.
她说美国总统唐纳德·特朗普对奥巴马医改计划的批评性言论，使得她的病人担心他们会失去保险。

It’s definitely something that is on our minds, she says.We encourage people to get insurance every day,and in the back of my mind I am thinking, ‘What if this is not an option soon?’”
“我们脑中肯定会想这件事”她说，“我们鼓励人们每天都能得到保险，之后我在想‘如果不久之后这不再是一种选择了，该怎么办？’”

Trump and the Republican-majority Congress say they plan to cancel ObamaCare and replace it.The new program will give, in the president’s words, “great health care for less money.”
特朗普和共和党为首的议会表示，他们计划取消并替换掉奥巴马医改计划。用特朗普总统的话说，新计划会用“更少的钱带来更好的医疗保障”。

Many poor Americans are waiting to see how any new program will affect them.
很多穷困的美国人都在拭目以待，新项目会对他们的生活产生怎样的影响。

Brian Nabinett is one of them.He has lived in Washington, D.C. for many years.VOA spoke with him at Bread for the City,a non-profit organization that gives food, clothing and legal and medical services to about 10,000 people every month.
布莱恩·纳比奈特是其中之一。他已经在华盛顿住了很多年。VOA记者在Bread for the City（为城市提供面包）组织见到了他。该组织是一个非营利组织，每个月大约为1万人提供食物、衣物、法律及医药服务。

Nabinett says the organization is "one of the beautiful places in D.C.It helps a lot of people here.If I need counseling or food, I can always come here."
纳比奈特说该组织是“华盛顿最美丽的地方之一。它帮助了很多人。如果我需要咨询或食物，我就会去那里。”

Some volunteers at Bread for the City are not sure how the new administration’s planned changes will affect poor people.
一些在该组织服务的志愿者不确定，新政府计划做的改变会如何影响穷人。

Patrice Ali is one of those volunteers.She received food and clothing from Bread for the City when she was jobless.
帕特里斯·阿里是其中一位志愿者。她在失业时，曾从Bread for the City那里获得食物和衣物。

She told VOA that she is concerned about the situation of the poor and what services they will be offered.She said programs like Obamacare and Medicaid, a government health program for children and the poor, are very important.
她告诉VOA说，她关心穷人的处境，以及应该提供什么服务给他们。她说类似于奥巴马医改计划和医疗补助计划等项目，是非常重要的。医疗补助计划是一个政府医疗项目，为儿童和穷人设立。

Ali believes few political leaders understand what is happening in the country.She says that in recent years she has seen an increase in the difference in income between poor people and others.
阿里认为很少有政治领导人会了解这个城市正经历什么。她说最近几年她看到穷人和其他人的收入差距在拉大。

Since I’ve been in my 20s, I have noticed that the gap has increasingly gotten larger,no matter who is actually in that position of power or authority to run this particular country.
“在我20多岁时，我就注意到这个差距在逐渐拉大，无论谁处于权利顶端管理这个国家。”

York, Pennsylvania is about 160 kilometers to the north of Washington.At the York County Food Bank, Grace Geltrude is getting food and other items that she says help her family survive.
宾夕法尼亚州的约克据华盛顿北部有160公里。在约克郡食物银行，格蕾丝·盖尔图德获得了食物及其他帮助她的家庭存活的物品。

It is very important because (the) cost of living goes up all the time, she says."We have a 3-year-old in the home.There used to be 13 people in the house at one time."
“这个组织很重要，因为生活成本一直在提高。”她说，“我们家里还有一个三岁的孩子。有一段时间家里一共有13口人。”

The food bank gives food to churches and other groups that help poor families in southern Pennsylvania.
食物银行将食物分发给教堂和其他在宾夕法尼亚南部帮助贫困家庭的组织。

Debbie Krout-Althoff is the director of development at the food bank.She says 680 kilograms of food are given on Fridays alone.
黛比·克劳特·阿尔托夫是食物银行发展部的主管。她说单是周五就会分发680公斤食物。

I think it’s an eye-opening experience when you come back from lunch and you see people outside of our building lined up for blocks,you know, to receive the food in all kinds of weather.We kinda go through life with blinders.
“我觉得那是一个令人瞠目的经历，当你从外面吃完午饭，看到在楼外排队的人排了好几个街区，无论什么天气都是如此。我们有点带着戴着眼罩在生活，忽略了周围。”

She says some low-income people in the county are worried about whether they will lose their medical insurance.But she says they are most concerned about survival-- "how they are going to feed their family, how are they going to pay their bills."
她说郡中一些低收入人群都在担心是否会失去医保。但是她说，人们最关心的还是生存问题：“他们要如何去养活家人，如果去支付各类账单。”

Geltrude says she has depended on the food bank, aid and a local health insurance program for help.
盖尔图德说她依靠食物银行，救济以及当地医疗保险项目生活。

I could not afford the insurance any other way, with the bills and all, taking care of a vehicle.I mean, it does get costly.And without some of these programs, people are struggling.
“我付不起其他方式的保险，还要付账单，养车。我是指花销真的很大。没有这些项目，人们的生存需要苦苦挣扎。”

The struggles of Geltrude and others like herare issues lawmakers will consider as they make changes to health care policies in the future.
盖尔图德及其他人艰难的生活，将是立法者们在未来改变医疗政策时应该考虑的问题。

I’m Jonathan Evans.
乔纳森·埃文斯为您报道。