Urge Sen. Flake and McCain to protect ACA while working towards a better plan

Earlier this week, two more Republican Senators announced they would oppose Trumpcare--ending any chance to pass it. And yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's proposal to vote this week on a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)--with NO replacement at all--also failed.¹ These are monumental victories, with thanks due to all of you who called, protested, and more.

But now, House Republicans are proposing to use the federal budget to severely cut Medicaid. And the Trump Administration announced it will defund the health care marketplace so that the ACA would "fail."²

Your Senators, Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, have not yet committed to voting no on Trumpcare. We need to rack up as many NO votes as possible to show widespread support for the Affordable Care Act and pour cold water on these other attempts to destroy it. To do that, we need to show them that their constituents in Arizona expect them to PROTECT the Affordable Care Act by voting NO on repealing it. Can you make a call NOW?

Here's the number to call:

• Sen. McCain - (202) 224-2235
• Sen. Flake - (202) 224-4521

Will you make an urgent call to Sens. McCain and Flake now?

Speak in your own words, but here are some points to guide you:

• My name is __________and I'm from Tucson. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is important to me because (if you have a personal story, share it here!).

• The Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion has provided health insurance to millions of the neediest people in America. If you vote to repeal it, it will kick these people off of their plans, and prevent millions more from getting the health care they need and deserve.³

• The Affordable Care Act protects guaranteed coverage for life-saving cervical and breast cancer screenings, comprehensive maternity care and domestic violence screenings, and birth control. If you vote to repeal it, insurance companies looking to make a buck will stop offering policies covering these vital health care services, which tens of millions of women rely on.⁴

• The Affordable Care Act provides important consumer affordability protections, like requiring insurance companies to cover a certain percentage of out of pocket expenses, and a ban on lifetime or annual "caps" on coverage. If you vote to repeal it, it will literally throw families into bankruptcy.⁵

- the UltraViolet tea

Sources:

1. Health Care Overhaul Collapses as Two Republican Senators Defect, New York Times, July 17, 2017

2. Health insurers plan big Obamacare rate hikes — and they blame Trump, Los Angeles Times, May 22, 2017

3. Medicaid’s Role for Women, Kaiser Family Foundation, June 22, 2017

4. Summary of the Affordable Care Act, Kaiser Family Foundation, April 25, 2013

Preventive care benefits for women, Healthcare.gov, accessed July 18, 2017

The Affordable Care Act’s Birth Control Benefit Is Working for Women, National Women's Law Center, December 2016

5. Ibid.

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!

Urge Your Senators to Oppose ACA Repeal. It's up for a vote now!

THIS is the moment.

Right now Senate Republican leaders are finalizing the details of their bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—in secret. They’re keeping the bill hidden until they’ve negotiated a deal with other Republicans, one that will very likely strip health care coverage from millions of people, including taking away Medicaid coverage and putting maternity coverage at risk.

We can’t let them reach that deal. We need to flood the Senate phone lines now.

Urge Your Senators to Oppose ACA Repeal

Here are simple steps for calling your Senators.
Step 1: Call the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to one of your Senators.
Step 2: Once you are connected, say:

“As your constituent, I urge you to reject ACA repeal. No one should lose their health coverage, and this repeal bill threatens the health care of millions of people including women, elderly people, children, and people with disabilities. [If you have a personal story to share, adding why the ACA has been important to you is an especially powerful message.]"
Step 3: Hang up, call again and ask for your other Senator.

We are at a critical point in our fight to protect affordable health care. And yet, we’re hearing news reports that the Senate phones lines have been mostly quiet. There is too much at stake for any of us to stay silent right now. Whether you think your Senators oppose repeal or not, every call matters. Pick up the phone now and do your part to protect our care!

If this repeal bill is similar to the House version like Senate Republican leaders and the Trump administration have promised, it would be devastating for women by:

Blocking people from getting preventive health care at Planned Parenthood health centers, including birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment;
Radically changing the Medicaid program in ways that will leave low-income women without essential health coverage;

*Allowing insurance plans to treat being a woman as a preexisting condition;
*Penalizing women seeking insurance coverage that includes abortion.

None of us can afford to sit this fight out. We need to call our Senators today – AND tomorrow – to show them that We, the Resistance will not stand for any attacks on our care.

- Gretchen Borchelt
National Women's Law Center

P.S. Do you or your friends or loved ones live in any of these states: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia? The Senators there may be on the fence, so it’s extra important that they hear from their constituents in opposition of ACA repeal. Make sure to forward this email and tell your friends it is crucial that they call their Senators today.