Republicans are in a race with a deadline. They must pass Trumpcare by September 30th, or it’s dead. That is 13 days away as of this post. Here is what we must do to stop it.
Defeating Trumpcare 3.0 is not only an emergency, but it is also an action to prevent Republicans from effecting a policy that will cause the deaths of many Americans.
Trumpcare 3.o is the instantiation of the Cassidy-Graham bill. Here is what that bill will do according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Cassidy-Graham would:
- Eliminate the ACA’s marketplace subsidies and enhanced matching rate for the Medicaid expansion and replace them with an inadequate block grant. Block grant funding would be well below current law federal funding for coverage, would not adjust based on need, would disappear altogether after 2026, and could be spent on virtually any health care purpose, with no requirement to offer low- and moderate-income people coverage or financial assistance.
- Convert Medicaid’s current federal-state financial partnership to a per capita cap, which would cap and cut federal Medicaid per-beneficiary funding for seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children.
- Destabilize the individual insurance market in the short run — by eliminating federal subsidies to purchase individual market coverage and eliminating the ACA’s individual mandate to have insurance or pay a penalty — and in the long run. After 2026, once the bill’s block grant funding ends, it would amount to repeal of the ACA’s major coverage provisions with no replacement — an approach that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated would cause 32 million people to lose coverage and lead individual markets to collapse in most of the country.
By attempting to push this bill forward now, Senators Cassidy and Graham are reverting to a damaging, partisan approach to repealing the ACA that would reverse the historic coverage gains under health reform and end Medicaid as we know it — even as other members of Congress, with the help of governors and insurance commissioners of both parties, are making progress in crafting bipartisan legislation to strengthen the individual market.
How do we stop Trumpcare 3.0?
Do any number of the following suggestions.
- Call (202) 224-3121 twice, once for each of your two Senators. Tell them in your words that you want them to oppose Graham-Cassidy because the bills draconian cuts will cause the death of many of your fellow citizens. Remind them that there is a bipartisan bill from Senators Alexander and Murray that will stabilize the ACA.
- Make the trip to your Senator’s local office and tell him you do not want Graham-Cassidy for the same reasons mentioned above. Do this on your own, in small groups, or organize with groups like Indivisible in your local area. Be prepared with stories of uninsured friends or acquaintances.
- Use all of your social media channels to tell them about the new iteration of Trumocare (e.g., Facebook posts, tweets, Tumblr, etc.)
- Use this tool to send a message or a video to your Senators.
- Relay stories via video about people you know who will get hurt by the draconian bill. Post these videos on your social media.
- Call in to talk shows and raise the urgency level.
- Comment in online news articles.
- Call the President at (202)456-1111. Tell him if the bill comes to him, veto it.
- Be ready to march in the streets.
- Share this blog post to empower others to do the same.