THOUSAND OAKS, California Maryann Hammers is likely to die from ovarian cancer someday. But she hopes someday wont come anytime soon.

Hammers, 61, received the diagnosis in late 2013, and doctors told her that it was stage 3-C, which meant that she could live for many years with the right treatment and a little luck. So far, shes had both. Shes in remission for the second time, and her last course of chemotherapy ended a year and a half ago. But recent blood tests detected elevated levels of a protein associated with tumors, she explained when we met a few weeks ago. Maybe its a fluke, she said. I hope so. I kinda feel like the clock is ticking.

If the cancer is back, Hammers said, she may need surgery similar to her two previous operations gigantic surgeries, gutted like a fish and hospitalized for many days. Chemotherapy would likely come next, plus medication, hospitalization, and home care. But Hammers considers herself lucky because shes been able to get treatment at City of Hope, a highly respected Southern California cancer research and treatment center, and luckier still that shes been able to pay for the treatment with insurance an Anthem Blue Cross policy she bought through Covered California, the exchange her state created under the Affordable Care Act .

To hear President Donald Trump , House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans tell it, Obamacare has been a disaster, even for those who obtained coverage through the law. Hammers has a very different perspective. Shes a freelance writer and editor, which means she has no employer-provided insurance. In the old days, if shed gone shopping for a policy with her cancer diagnosis, she would have struggled to find a carrier willing to sell her one.