Category: Healthcare

Call Senate

FEDERAL DAILY ACTION – Monday, June 12

Your Call – DEMAND FULL TRANSPARENCY ON THE SENATE AHCA BILL

or Rubio and Senator Nelson and let them know you are opposed to the American Health Care Act that is being fast-tracked by Mitch McConnell in the Senate.
MARCO RUBIO DC : 202 224 3041
Jacksonville: (904) 354-4300
BILL NELSON: DC: 202-224-5274
Jacksonville: 904-346-4500 (Nelson is opposed, but call to let him know we have his back!)

The Affordable Care Act, and the healthcare of millions of Americans, is under a massive and urgent threat by Republicans. On Wednesday, June 7th, Speaker Mitch McConnell used “Rule 14” to successfully fast-track the AHCA, the House healthcare bill that passed last month designed to deprive 23 million people of healthcare in order to provide tax breaks to corporations and the rich. Rule 14 will allow the bill to go straight to a Senate floor vote without any requirement for committee debate or discussion.

Currently, the Senate plan is being developed in secret and is expected to be submitted to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) around June 13th, without the release of any details of the submitted healthcare plan to the public or even Senate Democrats. While the CBO score will be released to the public two weeks later during the week of June 26th, McConnell is expected to immediately call for a vote on the bill on the Senate floor (to reach his publicly stated goal of passing the bill before the July 4th recess), giving Senate Democrats and constituents *hours* to learn of and digest a new healthcare plan that will affect one-sixth of the national economy and their own personal well-being.

Healthcare policy affects every single American, and it is unacceptable that this plan has not been transparent and available for sufficient Senate debate and public review. If we do not put pressure on now for full transparency on the contents of this healthcare plan, we may not get any visibility how it will potentially alter our lives until hours before the Senate’s final vote on the floor.

Your script:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from Ponte Vedra Beach.

IF CALLING REPUBLICAN: I’m calling today because I’m appalled by the Republican attempts to pass the AHCA without any transparency what so ever. I ask that Senator Bill Nelson demand the immediate release of the plan’s details to the public and hold a hearing to thoroughly discuss a healthcare plan that affects one-sixth of our economy and the health and lives of millions of Americans.

IF CALLING DEMOCRAT: I’m calling today because I’m appalled by the Republican attempts to pass the AHCA without any transparency what so ever. I ask that Senator Bill Nelson boycott all Senate committee hearings until one is scheduled to discuss and amend the healthcare plan.

[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]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) began the procedure Wednesday, June 7 for fast-tracking Trumpcare to get it to the floor with a minimum of transparency and a maximum of pressure.

Call Senator Rubio and Senator Nelson and let them know you are opposed to the American Health Care Act that is being fast-tracked by Mitch McConnell in the Senate.

MARCO RUBIO DC : 202 224 3041
Jacksonville: (904) 354-4300

BILL NELSON: DC: 202-224-5274
Jacksonville: 904-346-4500 (Nelson is opposed, but call to let him know we have his back!)

SCRIPT:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from ____, FL.

I’m calling today because I’m opposed to the American Health Care Act, which would leave even more Americans uninsured than pre-ACA and drive up premiums for millions more.

[Optional: Share a personal story about how this bill will impact you or someone you know]

I urge [SEN NAME] to vote against the AHCA and ensure the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid and protections for people with preexisting conditions remain in place.

Thank you for your time.

[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]

More Info:
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the revised American Health Care Act (AHCA) is in, and its findings are clear: the bill will strip 14 million Americans of health insurance by next year and 23 million by 2026 while making coverage unaffordable for millions more. In fact, the AHCA would leave more Americans uninsured by 2026 than were uninsured prior to the ACA’s passage in 2010.

The AHCA’s rollback of Medicaid expansion alone would immediately deprive 11 million low-income people of insurance access. The AHCA’s changes to the individual insurance market, where roughly 19 million Americans buy insurance (via federal and state marketplace plans and other nongroup plans), would also reduce insurance coverage. By replacing income-based tax credits with age-based credits, the bill would drive up nongroup premiums dramatically for low-income, older enrollees. For some older adults, their premiums could go up by as much as 800%. However, wealthy Americans would receive tax breaks totaling roughly $900 billion thanks to the new tax credit structure.

An estimated 1 in 6 people live in states that would request AHCA regulatory waivers, which would allow insurers to reinstate price discrimination based on health status and end coverage of essential health benefits. The CBO estimates that many sicker people would be priced out of the insurance market altogether. For many more consumers, out-of-pocket spending on maternity care, mental health and substance abuse services could increase by thousands of dollars in a given year.

The CBO estimated the AHCA could reduce premiums overall, but it would achieve this by making insurance unattainable for older and sicker Americans and by allowing insurers to offer much skimpier plans. We must not allow the Senate to reverse years of progress in increasing healthcare access.

http://www.dailykos.com/…/-McConnell-starts-fast-track-proc…