Category: Calls

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.

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.