Yep:
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has joined forces with Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey and law enforcement officials, including Huntington Police Chief Joe Ciccarelli, in an effort to fight the House Healthcare Bill. A new report released early Tuesday morning, details how the bill would worsen the opioid crisis.
During a conference call, officials described in detail how the House bill would undermine coverage for substance abuse, wipe out funding and leave those struggling with addiction without the care they need to overcome the disease.
The new health care bill also would roll back Medicaid, leaving 14 million people without coverage, which has never happened before.
The senators say this is a critical time for the opioid crisis and Medicaid, seeing as they are connected.
“My state has been hit has hard as any state in the nation! We still have people believing that addiction is not an illness and we know it is an illness. And an illness needs treatment. The Affordable Care Act allows that,” said Senator Manchin, “In 2016 more than 50,000 Medicaid recipients were diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder. Medicaid paid for 72 percent of nursing home care in WV. Democrats have not been involved in the process of putting this bill together or to look over this bill.”
Ken Strush, Police Chief of Berwick County, Pennsylvania agrees.
“Drug arrest have doubled and tripled in recent years. Addiction is a disease and not a crime. This is hitting all socioeconomic sectors and we can’t arrest our way out of it, “ Strush said.
Here’s a little more information:
“More people have died from drug overdoses than car crashes, and it’s the opioids that are fueling this crisis," said Mr. Casey, who said opioid overdoses caused 1,300 deaths in Pennsylvania in 2015. But "In the midst of this terrible crisis, Republicans want to roll back the Medicaid expansion and the [insurance] premium assistance that have been so important."
Under Obamacare, states were given the option to expand eligibility for Medicaid to more low-income families, who can use those benefits to pay for substance-abuse treatment along with other medical conditions. Some 700,000 Pennsylvanians received insurance coverage under that program, 180,500 West Virginians do. And in a report released this morning, Mr. Casey said that the expanded benefits provide substance-abuse treatment for 175,000 Pennsylvanians, covering the cost of one-third of all treatment provided statewide.
Medicaid plays a similar role in other states, conference participants said, especially in struggling communities.
"Our loss of Medicaid is literally going to kill people in Kentucky," said Alexandria, Ky., police chief Mike Ward, one of three local police chiefs to take part in the call.
Well said. This is one of the several great arguments why McConnell and Senate GOP are putting so many lives at risk and they need to be stopped. That’s why Senate Democrats are pushing to slow things down:
Monday evening, Senate Dems ground routine Senate business to a near halt with procedural moves designed to slow the process, while engaging in a late night talk-a-thon on the floor.
“If Republicans are not going to allow debate on their bill on the floor or in committee, Democrats will make opportunities to debate,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Throughout the nearly seven hours they devoted to objecting to the GOP’s intentions on health care, Democrats engaged in a number of mostly symbolic moves designed to troll Republicans for their lack of transparency around their Obamacare legislation. They offered motions to gum up plans for unrelated hearings and votes for as long as text of the Republican bill was unavailable to the public.
At one point, Schumer asked Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)—who was on the floor for much of the the night to shoot down the Dem motions—whether the public would have more than 10 hours to read the GOP health care bill, and McConnell could not even guarantee that.
“I think we’ll have ample opportunity to read and amend the bill,” McConnell would only say.
Democracy for America is helping Senate Democrats efforts to stop Trumpcare. I received this e-mail yesterday from DFA:
Americans of all political affiliations are disgusted with Senate Republicans' efforts to force a vote on their "secret" Trumpcare bill. This lack of transparency is an abuse of power, and insulting to the 24 million Americans whose health care is threatened by the Trumpcare bill.
Senate Republicans hope to pass the bill by the end of the month. That's 10 days from now.
DFA members know this is extremely urgent. That's why we're asking you to join other DFA members and commit to spending the next 10 Days to Defeat Trumpcare.
Will you step up and commit the next two weeks to stop this attack on health care? Sign up now to be a part of 10 Days to Defeat Trumpcare!
Here's how 10 Days to Defeat Trumpcare works. Each weekday for the remainder of June, either I or another DFA staffer will send you an action to take -- such as contacting Senators, and organizing your friends and family to participate to defeat Trumpcare.
Together we will demand that Republican Senators listen to their constituents and refuse to vote for Trumpcare. We will also encourage Democratic Senators to resist by delaying the votes as much as possible.
To be clear, we don't know the exact date when the Senate will vote. It's possible that Republicans will delay the vote. We're asking you to commit 10 Days to Defeat Trumpcare so that all of us can show every member of the Senate that we won't stand for this awful attack on health care.
Will you join the effort? Sign up now to be a part of 10 Days to Defeat Trumpcare.
Thank you for stepping up to stop Trump and his attack on health care.
- Mari
Mari Schimmer, Organizing Director
Democracy for America
Click here to sign up.