The health care scandal continues. Mitch McConnell pulled the first draft of his Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) before the July 4th recess because he didn’t have 50 votes. Conservative Republicans opposed it because it didn’t do enough to undermine the Affordable Care Act. Moderate Republicans withheld support as they assessed the political costs of depriving millions of Americans of essential insurance coverage including drastic, long-term cuts to Medicaid.
With a head feint to moderates – the revised bill keeps some of the taxes on the rich that finance the ACA - McConnell’s latest iteration incorporates Ted Cruz’s demand to allow insurance companies to sell policies that don’t meet the ACA’s minimum standards. Insurance industry CEOs and others maintain that this effectively eliminates coverage for pre-existing conditions and will lead to astronomical premiums for older Americans. The Republican bill also cuts Medicaid funding over the long run and eliminates basic care provisions such as women’s health coverage that are now provided under the ACA. The reality is clear: the BCRA is worse than the first Senate bill or the House version.
Democrats are united against the new bill and many Republican Senators are hiding from the press and their constituents to avoid offending Trump and McConnell on one side and harming their constituents on the other. Our job is to keep reminding our Senators that the home state political and ethical costs of supporting this horrendous bill are too high to pay.
Call To Action
You know what to do. Call early, call often and demand a NO vote on the current legislation before the Senate. Encourage bi-partisan cooperation to fix the problems with the ACA. We know you have called already, but do it again! Politics is mostly showing up. If you want to rent an airplane banner that reads “BCRA NO! Fix the ACA!” to fly over your city that would be good, too. Otherwise, call or sit in at your senator’s office.
On a different note, we would love to hear from you (myweeklyresistance@gmail.com) with stories of how you are using MWR and adapting it to your needs and local conditions. We’ll share your stories and ideas with everyone and help us all get better at this.
And, we are trying out a new feature - a political limerick from one of our MWR readers.
If you had seven years, hypothetically
To reconfigure a plan that helps, medically
Could you dream up ideas
To allay people’s fears
Or would you just act this pathetically?