Health care is a bipartisan problem and it needs a bipartisan solution. Cancer does not care if you are a Republican or a Democrat. Multiple sclerosis doesn’t give a hoot if you are rich or poor. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are not playing politics. Just ask former Republican President Ronald Reagan. Or former Democratic Congressman Dennis Moore.
For nearly two decades, Democrats have tried to work with Republicans to come up with a solution to our out-of-whack, overpriced, profit-oriented healthcare system. The graphic above, from healthinsurance.org, shows precisely just how bipartisan that effort was—Democrats spent nearly nine months debating and amending the Affordable Care Act, with input from Republicans, experts, physicians, patient advocacy groups and yes, even the insurance industry itself.
Who stands to gain the most from this Republican bill? It’s a winner winner chicken dinner jackpot for the 400 wealthiest families in America. From the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities:
This bill would be devastating to the financial security of millions of Americans. This isn’t a healthcare bill. It is a tax cut bill. A wealth care bill for the wealthiest people in this country. How much more will the middle class be expected to pay? Here’s an estimated premium increase, broken down by state:
Middle class citizens over the age of 60 years old will be hit disproportionately hard with a loss of tax credits:
Not a graphic, but that’s me at Roy Blunt's office on Friday. I’m a recent breast cancer survivor and found myself back at the cancer center undergoing exams and diagnostics last week. Fortunately, things went my way this time. But, I looked around the room and I saw the faces of the people who will be dramatically affected if this Republican bill passes. I had an hour between appointments and I decided to go to Roy Blunt's office and join the Indivisible KC protesters who were there to talk about the AHCA. My voice was shaky and I was emotional, but I was there for the women in the waiting room who were about to find out they had breast cancer. I was there for the millions more who will find themselves trying to make sense of a devastating pathology report in the next few years. I invited Roy Blunt’s staff to come back to the cancer center with me, meet with my doctors and radiologists. Ask them whether they thought it was a good idea to remove the essential health benefits from the ACA. Removing that provision of the ACA means services like mammograms, colonoscopies, check-ups, emergency services and more will no longer be required to be covered in basic health care plans.
Make no mistake about it, people will die. Many will forego basic cancer screenings because they are out-of-pocket and treatable, even curable cancers will not be detected until it is too late. I shared this photo because if I can do it, so can you. Democrat or Republican, red state or blue state, get on the phone and call them today. The main U.S. Capitol switchboard number is below. If you get voicemail or a busy signal, please CLICK HERE for the complete list of every U.S. senator’s offices in their home states. They are typically more responsive to constituent calls. Be firm, but polite with the staffers and make sure you call only your elected representatives. Calls to senators outside your state will be disregarded and the phone lines should remain open for them to hear from their own constituents.