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Intended as a rally against Trumpcare, the gathering became a victory celebration of sorts and a reminder that many battles lie ahead even as the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill was declared dead just hours earlier.
Your Action (all week): Calls to Senator Rubio and Secretary Tom Price
Call #1:
MARCO RUBIO DC : 202 224 3041
Jacksonville: (904) 354-4300
SCRIPT:
Hi, my name is __ and I’m a constituent from_____. I’m calling to express my serious concern about Trump’s intention to let Obamacare fail and put the lives of millions of Americans at risk. I urge Senator Rubio to immediately pass legislation to stabilize the insurance market and ensure the ACA’s cost-sharing subsidies are fully funded. The American people want to see the insurance market fixed, not sabotaged for political gain.
Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.
[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]
Call #2:
SECRETARY TOM PRICE at the Department of Health and Human Services
202-205-5445
SCRIPT:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from _____.
HHS: I’m calling to express my serious concern about Trump’s intention to let Obamacare fail and put the lives of millions of Americans at risk. I urge Secretary Price to continue cost-sharing reduction payments and enforcement of the individual mandate in order to maintain stability in our national insurance market. The American people want to see the insurance market fixed, not sabotaged for political gain.
MORE INFO:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s plan to repeal the ACA (the “Skinny Repeal”) failed on the Senate floor, 49-51, on July 27th. While he called the downfall of his ongoing efforts to dismantle the ACA “disappointing” and stated that it was time to “move on.” McConnell continued to denounce the ACA and its effectiveness, repeating myths of its instability. The Congressional Republicans’ ability to repeal the ACA may be over, but now the threat of Republican sabotage of the law by undermining its enforcement is still a real possibility. Indeed, Trump has called on Republicans to “let Obamacare fail, it will be a lot easier,” stating, “We’re not going to own it. I’m not going to own it.”
Analyses of the ACA have repeatedly shown that the individual markets are largely functioning well, with cost-sharing subsidies shielding buyers from premium cost increases. However, Trump and the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Tom Price, are taking steps to destabilize these markets. Trump is threatening to withhold insurance payments known as cost-sharing reductions (CSRs), which allow insurers to offer lower-cost individual market plans with lower out-of-pocket costs to low-income consumers. If these payments are discontinued, experts predict, it could collapse the individual insurance market and dissuade insurers from offering plans in the individual marketplace.
The administration could also stop the enforcement of the ACA individual mandate, a provision that ensures younger and healthier people buy insurance. Without this provision, insurance companies would be forced to consider major premium increases, affecting the affordability of insurance for the sick and elderly. Trump issued an executive order discouraging IRS enforcement of this mandate, and the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee has included a draft provision in a spending bill to defund the IRS’s mandate enforcement.
Insurance experts and the Congressional Budget Office have all stated that the ACA is stable and not in a so-called death spiral. However, the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress now appear committed to creating instability for political gain, creating turmoil in the national insurance market and putting the lives of millions of Americans at risk.
RubioNelson
202-224-5274
904-346-4500
Call both your senators and tell Democratic senators to use every tactic available to save the ACA. Tell Republican senators that voting on a bill that affects the lives of all Americans without hearings is absurd. Any bill that torpedos the ACA exchanges and leaves vulnerable Americans without insurance is wrong for the country. It is time for a bipartisan solution.
Republicans failed to get the 60 votes needed for the Senate Trumpcare plan or the 50 votes needed for straight repeal, and will next vote on a so-called “skinny repeal” which would repeal the ACA mandates and some taxes.
“Skinny repeal” would cause a death spiral in the ACA exchanges, leading to almost complete collapse. The CBO issued a score for “skinny repeal” on Wednesday night which found it would result in 16 million losing insurance and premiums rising an additional 20%.
Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and John Cornyn (R-TX) basically admitted the skinny bill is a “trojan horse” to get to a conference committee with the House, where deep cuts would likely be added to the bill.
Democrats have been adjusting their strategy in response to dynamic events and are ready to either flood the bill with amendments once it is introduced or, if they believe it will be defeated, push for an immediate vote.
Democrats should be thanked for using every possible tactic to defeat the ACA repeal and urged to stay the course. Republicans need to told that any bill that leaves sick and vulnerable Americans without insurance is unacceptable. A high volume of calls is crucial.
Your Script:
This is [NAME] and I’m a constituent in [ZIP].
[IMPORTANT] Describe how the repeal of the ACA would personally impact you, your friends or family.
[Democratic senators] Thank you for using every possible tactic to prevent the repeal of the ACA. Please continue to do everything possible to protect healthcare for the American people.
[Republican senators] It is absurd to do even a “skinny repeal” which will torpedo the ACA exchanges, leave millions of Americans without affordable insurance, and raise rates for everyone else, without hearings.
[Republican senators] Skinny repeal by itself is bad for the country and if passed and reconciled with House bill, is almost certain to be a death sentence for sick and vulnerable Americans.
[Republican senators] It is time to work on bipartisan solution to strengthen and improve the ACA.
Rubio – 202-224-3041 or 904-398-858
Find your senator: https://www.senate.gov/…/contact_informati…/senators_cfm.cfm
BLOCK THE SENATE REPEAL OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
The Senate has passed the Motion to Proceed to begin floor debate on the repeal of the ACA. Now, a series of amendments and new healthcare bills will be brought forth and voted on on the floor. It is unknown what the end result of this debate will be, but any version will surely involve a repeal of the ACA that will devastate the nation’s healthcare system, leave millions uninsured, and collapse the insurance market.
McConnell and Republican Senators will introduce amendments to a bill developed without any committee hearings, discussions, bipartisan debate, or public comments (by contrast, Senate Democrats held over 30 Senate Finance Committee meetings to draft the Affordable Care Act and included their Republican colleagues in these meetings). McConnell has publicly refused to commit to allowing more than 20 hours of debate on this massive legislation. With such a short turnaround time between announcing which bill they will put forward and the final vote, most congresspeople (including Republican Senators not directly involved in drafting the legislation) will have insufficient time to understand the bill’s full implications. Furthermore, the American public has been left in the dark about which bill Congress plans to vote on. This GOP strategy contravenes the spirit of our democratic process, and we must not stand for it.
We CAN do something about this: Demand Democratic Senators continue doing everything they can to block a final healthcare vote, e.g. by withholding consent for regular Senate procedures and introducing thousands of amendments during the reconciliation process in an approach known as filibustering by amendment. Further, we must urge Republican Senators to push their colleagues to develop their healthcare legislation openly and publicly. The American public deserves to know what is in their healthcare legislation, and the egregious behavior by the GOP must be stopped.
Your script:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from (zip code).
IF DEMOCRAT: I’m calling today because I’m furious that the Senate has proceeded to move forward on the repeal of the ACA. I want to thank Senator Bill Nelson for their vote against this ongoing effort and encourage them to keep fighting by filibustering by amendment! Their constituents are counting on them to fight for their healthcare.
IF REPUBLICAN: I’m calling today because I’m furious that the Senate has proceeded to move forward on the repeal of the ACA. I’m demanding that Senator Marco Rubio vote against any version of repeal that emerges from this undemocratic debate, and instead work in a bipartisan manner to fix the ACA, using traditional Senate processes such as open hearings and expert testimony.
[OPTIONAL: Share a personal story of why the ACA is so important to you, your family, and/or your community]
Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.
[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]
https://www.senate.gov/…/contact_informati…/senators_cfm.cfm
CALL: Senator Marco Rubio (202) 224-3041 or (904) 398-8586; Senator Bill Nelson (202) 224-5274 or (904) 346-4500.
HOUSE BILL IS BACK
McConnell says Senate will vote tomorrow on the health care bill that passed in the House. A refresher on that bill:
– This is the bill that Donald Trump said was “mean”
– This is the bill that does not pass the “Jimmy Kimmel” test
-23 million people lose health insurance including 14 million in the first year after passage
– Allows insurance companies to stop covering essential benefits (like maternity care, mental health, etc) that are currently required by law
– Allows insurance companies to charge higher premiums to people with pre-existing conditions (which is currently illegal under the Affordable Care Act)
– Gives $230 billion tax cut to high-income earners
– Rolls back expansion of Medicaid in 32 states
– Gives very small tax credits to make up for premiums that go up by almost 10x. Example: gives a $4,000 tax credit to a 64 year old whose premium goes up from $1,700 a year to $16,000 a year
The message on this one is clear. Our Senators must vote against the “motion to proceed” to a debate on this bill. Voting for the motion is voting for the bill.
Update: As of now, there is still no “Senate bill” to swap in for the House bill by amendment and no commitment from McConnell as to whether there is a “Senate bill” that addresses the comments from the Senate Parliamentarian. The only thing we know for sure is that they will have the vote tomorrow and begin with the House bill.
Update: Sen. Cornyn says they are working on rewriting parts of a Senate version of the bill that the Senate Parliamentarian has ruled as being out of order (including anti-abortion & anti-Planned Parenthood provisions and some smaller unrelated funding provisions). Those funding provisions are part of the as-yet-unsuccessful pitch to moderates. Also, various activists on the right are urging conservative Senators to vote against the “Senate bill” unless both the abortion and PP restrictions are included in the text. Impact: for different reasons this hurts rather than helps a “Senate bill” get passed.
Your Script:
Caller: Hello! My name is [name] and I’m calling from [part of state].
I strongly urge Senator ________ to vote no to the Motion to Proceed with TrumpCare. This is a tax cut for the rich disguised as healthcare. This bill is barbaric. The CBO estimates 23 million people will lose their healthcare. Senator _______will pay a high political price for not voting in line with what 88 percent of his constituency wants. People will die as a result of a loss of benefits.
Please ask Senator _______to place country before party.
Caller: Thank you for your time.
CALL: Senator Marco Rubio (202-224-3041 or 904-398-8586); Senator Bill Nelson (202-224–5274 or 904-346-4500).
The delayed vote on Senate GOP’s new ACA-repeal bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), represents an opportunity for Republicans to abandon their partisan obsession with dismantling the ACA and instead partner with Democrats to shore up the law. One major Republican critique of the ACA has been that the individual insurance markets are unstable and have increasingly high premiums. However, all analyses of these markets have shown that the markets are stable overall and that consumers have largely been shielded from premium increases thanks to tax subsidies. In fact, most of the instability of the insurance markets have stemmed from insurance company uncertainty about whether Republicans will continue paying the cost-sharing reductions that allow them to insure sicker people at lower cost. Healthcare spending has also slowed under the ACA, and people have objectively benefitted from increased access to healthcare, especially preventive services.
The Senate repeal bill actually maintains much of the ACA’s structure while cruelly cutting things like premium subsidies and funding for Medicaid expansion. Instead of trying to adopt a worse version of the ACA, Republicans should work with Democrats to implement a package of ACA fixes, from insurance market stabilization to negotiation of lower pharmaceutical costs, that would preserve (and even increase) access to affordable health insurance while still containing health care spending. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has already called on Trump to meet with Democrats to find a bipartisan way forward. Now, it’s on Republicans to do the right thing and shift their focus from repealing the ACA to fixing the ACA.
Your script:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY STATE ZIP CODE].
[IF REPUBLICAN]: I’m calling to encourage Senator [NAME] to abandon his or her ACA repeal efforts and instead advocate for a bipartisan approach to healthcare reform. The majority of Americans want the ACA repaired, not replaced, and it makes far more sense to repair the existing bill than to replace it with a law that introduces a host of new problems while fixing none of the current problems.
[IF DEMOCRAT]: I’m calling to encourage Senator [NAME] to pursue a bipartisan effort to repair the ACA. The Republican plan to repeal the ACA is cruel and unacceptable, and the best way forward for the American people is to find a way to fix the ACA’s problems than introduce new ones.
Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.
[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]
Senator Bill Nelson (202-224–5274 or 904-346-4500).
YOUR ACTION: Defend women’s health by demanding that your senators vote no on any healthcare bill that imposes barriers to access and financial penalties on women because of their gender.
Given that the Senate’s ACA-repeal bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), was drafted entirely by Republican men, it is hardly surprising that the bill harms women’s health in myriad ways. First, the bill would stop federal funding for Planned Parenthood for a year, even though the Hyde Amendment already prohibits allocation of federal dollars to abortion care. Defunding Planned Parenthood would cause thousands of people, particularly in areas with healthcare provider shortages, to lose access to crucial preventive services like cancer prevention and prenatal care.
The bill also contains multiple other provisions that undermine access to maternity care. The BCRA will allow states to opt out of the requirement that exchange plans must cover ten essential health benefits, including maternity care and contraceptive access. Employers will also no longer be required to cover maternity care, as the bill eliminates the requirement that large employers offer insurance that meets specific standards. Attacks on Medicaid funding would further reduce coverage for maternity care, as nearly half of births in the US are currently paid for by Medicaid, and more than 25 million women are insured through Medicaid. The bill even allows states to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients that would allow them to force mothers to find work within 60 days of giving birth.
Finally, the bill prevents people from using tax credits to buy exchange plans that cover abortion services. Reproductive rights advocates argue that this provision will dissuade insurance companies from providing abortion coverage, even in employer-sponsored plans. This provision is also thought to violate the Byrd Rule, which prohibits the Senate from using the reconciliation process (i.e. a filibuster-proof voting process where legislation can pass with a simple majority) to pass any policy changes that do not directly affect the budget.
Women are half of this country’s population and deserve a healthcare bill that does not punish them for their gender.
Your script:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY STATE ZIP CODE]
I’m calling to urge Senator [NAME] to oppose any provision in the Better Care Reconciliation Act which would harm women by defunding Planned Parenthood, rolling back Medicaid coverage, and allowing insurers to stop covering maternity care services and contraceptive access. Women should not face financial penalties and barriers to healthcare access simply because of their gender.
[OPTIONAL: Share a story about how the BCRA would harm you or women in your life.]
Thank you for your time.
[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]
[IF YOUR REP’S VOICEMAIL IS FULL]: Use Resistbot. You don’t need a smartphone, just a text-capable mobile phone. Open the app you use to text. On many phones it’s called messages. In the phone number, or “To:” field, type 50409, and in the message body, resist. Send that message and you’re in. Follow the app’s directions.
Call Senat
or Rubio (202 224-3041 or 904 354-4300)
Senator Nelson (202 224-5274 or 904 346-4500)
Tell them to listen to their constituents while back in Florida. Urge them to consider the voices of the disabled, the elderly, the poor and those who will lose healthcare within one year and Medicaid services over the next decade. Our senators may avoid face-to-face interactions with those they represent, but we will be there: on the phone, on their fax machines, outside their offices. Our request is simple. Take the time and the effort to research, listen, draft, amend and allow public comment before taking steps to create a healthcare plan we can live with. Congress is taking a recess. We are not.
Your script: Hi, my name is [NAME], and I am a constituent from [CITY, ZIP CODE. If leaving a voice mail, give your complete address].
I’m calling to express my strong opposition to the Better Care Reconciliation Act in its present form.
[IMPORTANT] To the extent possible, make your request personal. If you have a friend or relative with a disability, describe how they will be affected. If you have a family member in a nursing home, if you have a preexisting condition, tell your story.
[SEN. BILL NELSON] I appreciate your continued opposition to the healthcare plans proposed by the House and the Senate and your dedicated effort to craft instead a healthcare plan that will cover more people, expand Medicaid, stabilize the insurance market and lower premiums, deductibles and the cost of drugs. These are important steps in working toward a single-payer plan.
[SEN. MARCO RUBIO] I implore you to stand with other Republicans who are working toward a healthcare plan that will not penalize the poor, the disabled, the sick, the disabled and the elderly. Republican senators such as Dean Heller and Susan Collins are putting the needs of the people of their states ahead of party politics. That’s what I am asking you to do. Accept the Democrats’ sincere offer to work with Republicans for the good of the American people. The last effort to reform healthcare and pass it through Congress with the support of only one party has not worked. Why would we go down that path again?
Call your Senators and demand that they stop Trumpcare and protect the Affordable Care Act-Obamacare. #ProtectOurCare
☎️Call Senator Rubio (202-224-3041) or (904-354-4300) and
Senator Nelson (202-234-5274) or (904-346-4500)
Some Republican senators voiced concern yesterday about the rush to consider the major legislation as their party’s leaders prepare to unveil it. Even they know this is WRONG!!!
The healthcare bill will be released to the Republican Senate Conference this morning and posted online. A vote could come as soon as next week. The ACA is in GRAVE DANGER and we must keep calling to express our opposition.
-Your Script:
Hi, my name is (NAME) and I am a constituent from (CITY, ZIP)
I am calling to express my concern about what is happening right now in the Senate.The bill would push millions of people off of their health care, taking away the financial security and peace of mind that comes with having insurance, and raise costs for everyone. All for the sake of a political “win.” that will make health care in America worse — and it’s up to the Senator to do something about it. The Senator must vote NO on this bill, I BEG him to move forward in a bipartisan way to improve the ACA.
Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.
(IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied)
☎️Call Senator Rubio (202-224-3041) or (904-354-4300) and remind him that you aren’t going away.
Your Script:
Hi, my name is (NAME) and I am a constituent from (CITY, ZIP)
I am calling to express my opposition to the way that the healthcare bill is being handled. Even members of the GOP are frustrated with the Senate Republican leaders’ efforts to draft the healthcare overhaul measure largely behind closed doors and without the input of his fellow lawmakers.
This is the United States and we are not living under a dictatorship. I am entirely in the right to ask my democratically-elected leader to be transparent on this issue. This is the very job that Senator Rubio raised money for, ran all those ads for and now he needs to do his job. I am not going away.
Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.
(IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure that your call is tallied)
__________________________________________________
☎️Call Senator Nelson (202-224-5274) or (904-346-4500)
Your Script:
Hi, my name is (NAME) and I am a constituent from (CITY, ZIP)
I am calling today to thank Senator Nelson for speaking up and for asking for transparency on the healthcare bill.
This is the United States and we are not living under a dictatorship. I urge the Senator to speak up for a bipartisan fix to our healthcare system.
Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.
(IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure that your call is tallied)
