Weekly Steps of Activism

It’s been a while since I posted one of these steps of activism posts — not because the Trump administration has been any less chaotic and hostile and deserving of resistance, but because I needed a little breather. This is a marathon and not a sprint, after all. If we’re to keep up the resistance for the duration of the Trump presidency — however long it may last — we have to pace ourselves.

That said, this past week has been especially combative, with Republicans winning a health care battle in the House last week that we cannot afford to see get won in the Senate. Here are a few details of the bill in question, and why you should be concerned (taken from this site, which you should follow!):

With a vote of 217-213, the House passed the bill to repeal Obamacare. Here are the most devastating potential consequences of the bill.

Allows states to opt out of the requirement to provide essential health benefits, which include maternity care, mental health care, and prescription coverage.

Allows states, in certain cases, to opt out of the rule that prevents insurers from charging sick people higher premiums than healthy people. Essentially, this could seriously limit coverage options for those with preexisting conditions (including scenarios that disproportionately affect women like a C-sections, sexual assault, and domestic violence).

Eliminates subsidies that enable low-income Americans to afford health insurance premiums and replaces them with tax credits.

Allows insurers to charge older Americans five times as much as younger Americans (previously, the cap was three times).

Slashes Medicaid funding, rolling back the expansion and cutting $880 billion over ten years.
Provides the wealthy with $300 billion in tax cuts over ten years.

We have to do everything in our power to keep the Senate from passing this devastating bill. Please call your senators’ offices and ask what their position on the bill is. Here are some scripts:

What to Say

I’m a constituent from [CITY, ZIP] calling about healthcare. I’m devastated that the House has passed the ObamaCare repeal legislation. Can you tell me Senator [NAME’s] position on the bill?

Will Vote NO

That’s a huge relief. Please thank Senator [NAME] for protecting access to affordable care. I would rather see a commitment to bipartisan efforts to improve the ACA than an effort to repeal it. Please urge Senator [NAME] to keep fighting and not support ANY legislation that makes health care more expensive, limits coverage options for sick Americans, or slashes Medicaid funding.

Lean YES or UNDECIDED

This bill is unacceptable to me as a constituent. I am fundamentally opposed to any legislation that limits coverage options or makes health care less affordable. We can’t afford to slash the Medicaid budget or repeal the individual mandate either. I expect my senator to protect access to affordable care. That means voting NO on a bill that provides $300 billion in tax cuts to the wealthy yet puts millions of American’s affordable insurance at risk.

Please tell [Senator’s NAME] that a NO vote on this bill is important to me because [ADD YOUR STORY. Examples: “I am a cancer survivor and this bill could make my coverage too expensive for me to afford”]. Please ask the senator to follow up with me at [INSERT CONTACT INFO]. Thank you for taking my call.

Also! The House in on recess this week, May 8-12, which means many reps will be hosting town halls in their local districts. Look up your rep if you don’t know who it is, see if they’re holding a town hall this week, go to it, and demand that your rep discuss TrumpCare. If he or she voted for it, give ’em hell!! Tell them that they will be punished when they’re up for re-election. Because, seriously, eff them!! (And if your rep is too chickenshit to hold a town hall, fucking go to his office and give him hell. The dickwads work for us, not the other way around. They better show their damn faces).