9to5 members and friends – Now is time to take action! Congress is voting this week and next on a bill that threatens to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA – Obamacare) and slash Medicaid, which together have reduced the number of uninsured Americans by many, many millions. Since the ACA became law on March 23, 2010, over 30 million have enrolled and more people in our country have health care coverage than ever.
But now, some in Congress want to take our health care away. We say NO!
“When I first moved to Georgia, I couldn’t afford health insurance and spent months without any coverage, hoping I wouldn’t get sick. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, I am now fortunate to get coverage at a reduced cost – saving me around $800 per month. Now I can afford health care and can afford to keep myself healthy. What am I supposed to do if Congress removes the ACA?” – Marilyn Lee, a 9to5 Georgia member leader
Under the bill now in Congress, 14 million people would lose their health care by next year, and another 10 million after that. Those affected most would include women, people of color, individuals and families living in poverty, seniors, people with disabilities, and immigrants. It would nearly double the number of uninsured young adults.
Health insurance premiums would go up 15% to 20%, and deductibles would be higher. The biggest increases in premiums would be for people over 50 years old and for working people with average incomes. One example – a premium for a 64-year-old earning $26,500 annually would go from $1,700 a year to a whopping $14,600, more than half her yearly income!
And why are some in Congress supporting such a terrible bill? So that the very rich and corporations benefit from massive tax breaks. The wealthiest Americans and drug and insurance corporations would get a $35 billion tax cut next year alone and a whopping $465 billion over ten years. The bill even has a special tax break for insurance company CEOs.
The bill would wreck state budgets by shifting the financial burden of health care costs onto their already stretched funds, putting other important programs at risk. As if all this wasn’t enough of an attack on women and families, the bill also defunds Planned Parenthood, the primary health care provider for many low-income women and women of color.
Call Now to Tell Congress “Hands Off Our Health Care!”: Call your Representative and demand that s/he reject the bill to repeal the ACA. Use this toll-free number: 1-866-426-2631. If you have a personal health care story, share it. And tell your Representative:
- Vote NO on the bill to repeal the ACA and slash Medicaid. This bill doesn’t do anything to improve the ACA, make health care more affordable or protect Medicaid—it just makes things worse. People will pay more and get less.
- Taking health care away from 14 million people by 2018 and capping Medicaid will have dire consequences for the whole country and the economy.
- It’s wrong to cut health care for low-income families, the middle class, seniors, kids and people with disabilities so that you can give a big tax break to the rich and health insurance companies.
Now is the time, please make this call today. Your phone call makes more of an impact on your elected officials than an email. Next, encourage a friend to do the same. The health of our country depends on it.
