The Graham-Cassidy Healthcare Repeal Bill That Just Won’t Die
(But You Might)
You don’t have to be a healthcare wonk these days to know that the GOP agenda includes a relentless effort to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, which made life-saving health insurance available to more working families than ever before.
The latest GOP senate healthcare repeal just needs 50 votes to pass.
The GOP’s efforts have been so numerous and persistent that they border on the comical. But for Virginia’s working families, the latest last-ditch bill to repeal Obamacare (known as the Graham-Cassidy bill) is no laughing matter—and it absolutely must NOT pass to avoid the loss of healthcare to millions of people. Senate Republicans are literally running out of time to gut the ACA, and they know it. But if they can get just 50 votes to repeal Obamacare by September 30 (the deadline for this latest effort) they can, and will, vote to repeal Obamacare.
As of Friday, one of the bill’s sponsors indicated that they had close to the required 50 votes, saying, “We’re probably at 48 or 49.”
Don’t be fooled by the name. This is still #Trumpcare—only worse.
In Virginia, we have had enough of the political tug-of-war games played by Republicans with our families and our livelihoods.
This latest repeal bill will eliminate $268 million in federal funding for Medicaid and healthcare in Virginia. Recent estimates on previous repeal attempts indicated that more than 500,000 Virginians could lose access to healthcare as a result of repeal. Simply put, the bill will raise costs, help states gut Medicaid, and slash protections for people with pre-existing conditions, to name just a few. That’s a bad deal for all of us.
No family wants the constant anxiety of wondering whether they’ll still be able to see their doctor because Trump’s antics are driving insurers away from Virginia.
No family should have to worry about whether this is the day that Trump will yank the federal dollars that help them pay for healthcare.
No one deserves to lose healthcare because they have a pre-existing condition that Republicans decide is not worth covering or too expensive to pay for.
And yet, that’s precisely what the Republican agenda consists of these days.
Time’s up. Make the call and don’t let this dangerous healthcare bill pass.
- Call this SEIU hotline number: 866-426-2631. (If you’re calling from Virginia, it will route your call to your Republican House members in Virginia.)