Campaign Action
While Senate Majority Leader is planning to kill Medicaid as we know it and force 15 million people out of their health coverage this year, his constituents are dying at an alarming rate. He's not lifting a finger to do anything about it.
The number of drug-overdose deaths in Kentucky hit a new high in 2016 because of rising abuse of heroin and a painkiller called fentanyl, according to a report released Tuesday.
The state recorded 1,404 overdose deaths, up from 1,248 in 2015, according to the report from the state Office of Drug Control Policy.
“Nearly every community in Kentucky experienced a fatal drug overdose last year — if that’s not a wake-up call, I don’t know what is,” Gov. Matt Bevin said in a news release with the overdose report. “We don’t have the luxury of pretending there isn’t a massive problem.”
The Senate bill gives barely a nod to the national opioid crisis—$2 billion for fiscal year 2018. That's it. Senators from other states which have been hit particularly hard by the crisis had been hoping for a 10-year, $45 billion fund out of the bill, an amount which would be totally inadequate considering the Medicaid cuts that are also in the bill. That $45 billion would barely begin to cover the lost Medicaid funding.
McConnell likely engineered the draft of the bill CBO scored to have that $188 billion extra that he could use to bribe senators to support the bill. Of course, his maniacs see that $188 billion "saved" and scream "kick more people off Medicaid!" Another instance in which McConnell might have been too tricky for his own good.
While he's playing these games in Washington, the people back home are dying. That's not hyperbole. It's the truth.
The end of Medicaid as we know it? No exaggeration. The Senate version of Trumpcare has worse long-term cuts to Medicaid than the House version, to pay for tax breaks to the wealthy. Call your Republican senator at (202) 224-3121, and give them a piece of your mind. Tell us how it went.