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Independent Living News & Policy from the National Council on Independent Living

Urgent: Act Now To Protect Healthcare!

The Senate is now planning to vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act before leaving for the 4th of July, which gives us just a couple of weeks to stop them. All efforts right now are critical! If a bill passes the Senate, Republicans’ dangerous idea of healthcare reform and their efforts to decimate Medicaid will become a reality. We need to stop this. Our lives are on the line.

Just like the House did last month, the Senate is working hastily and in secrecy on their version of Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal and replace. While the exact changes the Senate plans to make to the House’s American Health Care Act (AHCA) are not certain, we do know that the changes being talked about are minor and the two plans will share far more in common than not. The Senate is still on track to make people pay more, have access to less coverage, and cut over $800 billion from Medicaid.

Take Action!

The outcome of this vote will likely come down to one or two key Senators, so we need to do everything we can to get those “NO” votes. The list of priority Senators is below. If you are in one of those key states, please, set up a meeting with your Senator’s staff. If you can’t meet with them (or even if you can), call them, and follow up with an email. You can reach your Senators by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and asking the operator to connect you. And then, do it all again tomorrow. They need to hear from us regularly!

If you’re not in one of the key states, you can still take action! We need everyone from all states to let the Senate know that we see what they’re doing and demand that they hold hearings on the bill! Call the Senate HELP Committee at 202-224-5375 and the Senate Finance Committee at 202-224-4515 and demand that they hold hearings before bringing the bill to a floor vote! 

Priority Senators:

  • Alaska: Murkowski and Sullivan
  • Arkansas: Cotton
  • Arizona: Flake
  • Colorado: Gardner
  • Georgia: Isakson
  • Indiana: Young
  • Louisiana: Cassidy
  • Maine: Collins
  • Missouri: Blunt
  • Montana: Daines
  • Nebraska: Fischer and Sasse
  • Nevada: Heller
  • Ohio: Portman
  • Pennsylvania: Toomey
  • South Carolina: Graham
  • Tennessee: Alexander and Corker
  • West Virginia: Capito
  • Wisconsin: Johnson

Sample Script

Below is a sample script you can use when you call your Senators. Please personalize it as much as possible! Just ensure that you tell them who you are, how the current healthcare reform efforts and changes to Medicaid will affect you, and that you want them to vote “NO” on any bill that proposes these harmful changes.

“My name is (your full name). I am a constituent of Senator (name). I am disabled and I rely on Medicaid to live independently in my community. I am calling to ask Senator (name) to vote NO on any legislation that will cap and cut Medicaid and put healthcare out of reach for millions of Americans, including the upcoming ACA repeal bill. Senator (name) has a responsibility to fight for their constituents, and that includes those of us with disabilities and pre-existing conditions. People (like me / in the disability community) rely on Medicaid for our health and independence, and converting Medicaid to a per capita cap system would be detrimental to people with disabilities in (state). If this bill is passed, I risk losing access to services that I rely on to live in my community. This is unacceptable. This is an extremely important issue to the disability community, and we are following the Senator’s actions closely. I hope we can count on the Senator to do what’s right for people with disabilities in (state) and around the country!”

Comments

  1. Charles W. Artis says

    UNCONSCIONABLE! To force those people near their golden years to pay More health care when their pensions and can LEAST afford to pay!

  2. Bonnie Jones says

    People that work all their life to make this Country what it is today are being penalized because they older and the government don’t want to pay what were promised .We should awards them and care of them.

  3. Joseph k. Randle, MBA says

    I have been a life long republican, and I can not believe that my party will entertain this terrible version of healthcare reform. If what I read is correct, the poor will have coverage reduced thru medicaid cuts and the elderly will pay MUCH more when their incomes are lower and fixed. We as a nation can do better!

  4. Clarence Russeau says

    Do They Care
    They being our Representative who are elected even care about the citizens of this nation
    Do they care about the families the children of those families
    Do they care about the parents the grand parents of our families
    What would the representatives who held those seats prior would say or do
    Why aren’t American citizens good enough to have the same sort of health care that our representative get
    No one is saying companies should not make a profit but do they have to RAPE us
    OUR the people who are representing us going to do that for themselves

    PEOPLE PLEASE GET INVOLVED it doesn’t matter if you voted or not were talking about your loved ones now and in the future