Good news and bad news: on healthcare bill

the qualify of our healthcare affects everyone

The good news is...

Your calls are working! Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has postponed the vote on the Senate Republican leadership’s ACA repeal bill until after the July 4th recess, because they don’t have the votes they need to move it to debate now. Let’s do everything we can to keep it that way.

The bad news is...

Despite the Senate Republican leadership writing their ACA repeal bill in secret and planning to rush it to a vote, the public finally learned more about this bill last week, and it’s every bit as cruel and irresponsible as we expected. While it gives massive tax cuts to wealthy people and corporations, it takes coverage away from 22 million people, erodes the quality of insurance coverage for everyone else, and ends Medicaid as we know it. It penalizes women who want insurance plans that cover abortion and blocks individuals enrolled in Medicaid from accessing preventive care at Planned Parenthood health centers, which offer birth control, life-saving cancer screenings, and maternity care. Even prominent GOP Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) admitted that “There is nothing in this legislation that will lower premiums,” and by Tuesday afternoon, there was too little support for the bill to bring it to a vote this week.

The Fight to Keep Affordable Health Care Continues

We need to keep up the pressure to ensure that they can’t proceed with this life-threatening legislation.

• Keep calling your Senators at 202-224-3121 to make sure they know you oppose ACA repeal and expect them to do everything in their power to protect our care. Use this script as a jumping off point, and be sure to add your personal story.
• Congress will be in their home districts for recess all next week. It’s critical that they hear our opposition to these attacks on our health care loud and clear. We’ve updated our resistance recess toolkit with important info for talking to your Senators and Representatives in person.
• In addition to taking health care from millions of people, this bill’s attack on Medicaid could also jeopardize over four million jobs held by women in the health care sector. Read our new report to learn more about how Medicaid is a job creator for women and fosters economic mobility for women and their families.
• You can find our full collection of resources on the importance of defending the ACA here.

Double the Trouble
The attacks on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are happening alongside an attack on Planned Parenthood. So what would happen if both of them were eliminated? That’s the question explored by our latest report, Double the Trouble: Health Care Access Without the Affordable Care Act or Planned Parenthood.

As the report states, “Our research found that regardless of the services sought, without the coverage and protections of the ACA and the comprehensive care provided by Planned Parenthood health centers, patients would have to jump through multiple hoops to get the care they need or go without it altogether. In many cases, inability to access care could put individuals in untenable situations, forcing them to skip a rent payment or scramble to pay for childcare. In others, it could mean delayed diagnosis or treatment of a life-threatening or debilitating condition.”

• Read the report to learn more about how the ACA and Planned Parenthood work together to make care accessible for millions of people.
• Watch and share this video to spread the word about how ACA repeal and defunding Planned Parenthood could push people through the cracks of our health care system.
• Keep up the pressure to prevent the terrible bill in Congress to repeal the ACA and defund Planned Parenthood from moving forward! See above.

Resistance Must-Read

• When advocates center the needs of women of color, everyone wins.

- We the Resistance, a campaign of National Women's Law Center

Good News update: Senator Dean Heller (Republican) held a press conference to explain why he can't support the senate healthcare bill!