CHICOPEE – Congressman Richard Neal offered both a long-term and short-terms advice for people who are concerned about the changes proposed for the Affordable Care Act at his Town Hall meeting on March 11.

He told the approximate 150 people who attended the event that contacting members of Congress by letter who support the legislation is a strategy to undertake now. For the future, though, people need to become active in the Democratic Party.

Neal also noted he believes there is a very good chance that while the legislation may pass the House of Representatives it will not be supported by the Senate.

He urged the existing ACA legislation be amended in light of weaknesses in the bill that have emerged.

Before Neal spoke, Sister Mary Caritas of the Sisters of Providence said the replacement of the ACA with the Republican plan would be “an absolute disaster.”

She noted for a family of five whose insurance under the ACA receives assistance of $14,000 annually to help pay for the coverage, would get between $2,000 and $3,000 in tax credits under the new plan.

Caritas said a proposed cap on Medicaid spending would hurt people who are in long term care.

Outlining the history of the ACA, Neal noted the number of meetings, hearing and amendments from both parties.

“The idea it was hatched, the idea that it was invented is simply untrue,” he said.

Neal said the mandate to have insurance was the most controversial aspect of the ACA, as some people believe they should only participate in the healthcare system when they need healthcare.

“We have had a problem getting young men in America buying healthcare,” he noted.

Neal acknowledged there are problems with the individual mandate and asked, “Why can’t we fix it and move on?”

He described the mandate as “the glue that holds the plan together.”

Neal believes the two most popular aspects of the ACA – being able to buy insurance with a pre-existing condition and having children stay on their parents’ plan until age 26 – can not be part of a new insurance program without the individual mandate.

One man who spoke was critical of the ACA as he noted one-third of his income goes to pay for health insurance. He is paying $1,500 monthly for policy his wife and himself with a $2,000 deductible.

Neal said in order to move forward, people should hear those stories about the ACA as well.

“The suggestion of the American people is not to repeal or replace, the suggestion of the American people is to repair,” he said.

Neal also spent time discussing the re-building of the Democratic Party, acknowledging that one third of the all democrats in Congress are from just three states: Massachusetts, New York and California.  He charged the party has “lost a lot of contact with working people.”

He said, “We losing the traction of the people who look at us for upward mobility.”

Neal believes the recession of 2008 affected the party and as well as the decline in organized labor. Currently only 6 percent of workers are in unions.

“That’s an advocacy group that has been sidelined,” he noted.

He acknowledged the Clinton for President campaign – of which he was a prominent supporter – made mistakes.

He also decried the absence of compromise in the Congress and the inability to have a discussion with members who have opposing viewpoints.