I had this plan the other day where I was going to call the wavering or opposing Republicans who didn't want to repeal the ACA (Affordable Care Act, Obamacare) without a replacement plan. They only needed three defectors in order to stop the repeal -- and, as of yesterday, anywhere from 6-12 were reported as wavering.
Conservatives who have opposed Trump and his policies have tended to make a big fuss at first and then lie down and roll over under party pressure. ("Who's a good ol' boy? Who's a good ol' boy? You are! YOU are!") I wanted to contact people who were wavering and say, hey, this is super important, please vote against your party and don't give in to that pressure.
But then the Senate voted by a tiny majority to repeal the ACA without a replacement. At around 1 in the morning. So, that was my plan gone out the window.
Now, I'm going to call and send personalized emails to my Representatives, in the hope that the House will see this nonsense for what it is and block the repeal.
Do I deny that the ACA needs some work? No. I realize that as a 24-year-old with a uterus, I'm in the demographic that it's tended to work out well for. I've gotten to stay on my parents' insurance and I've gotten birth control for free. (Hooray! No more migraines so severe they cause auditory hallucinations!)
But that's not what this is about. This is about the conservative party trying to put President Obama's legacy through the shredder. They don't care about making sure they have a less cumbersome healthcare system. They just know that it's called Obamacare, and so they want to KILL IT WITH FIRE.
I can't stress enough that this would be a death sentence for many Americans. A quiet, coolly legislated death sentence. It's not like they're going door to door rounding up disabled, sick, and mentally ill people and killing us en masse so that we won't be a burden on society. This isn't Nazi Germany. Not yet.
But if you deny people the care they need to live, you may as well be doing that. People with preexisting conditions, including children, will die because they are denied health coverage.
The effects aren't always so obvious. We already have a problem with high rates of homelessness among veterans and mentally ill people. If a person loses their healthcare and eventually their job and home as a result, and then freezes to death, that's on the GOP. If someone loses their health insurance and kills themselves -- from depression, chronic pain, PTSD, or as an alternative to dying of cancer without proper care -- then they may have pulled the trigger, but it would still be the GOP's fault.
I'm not entirely comfortable getting into all the reasons why this is a personal issue for me, but for now, know that it is. I'm going to be contacting my reps about it. If I lived in the state where I was registered to vote, I would consider making the trip to D.C. and walking into their office to deliver a message in person.
If you are a U.S. citizen, it would mean a great deal if you would call or write (a personalized letter or email, not a form letter) to your Representatives to let them know that repealing the ACA without a replacement is foolish.
Conservatives who have opposed Trump and his policies have tended to make a big fuss at first and then lie down and roll over under party pressure. ("Who's a good ol' boy? Who's a good ol' boy? You are! YOU are!") I wanted to contact people who were wavering and say, hey, this is super important, please vote against your party and don't give in to that pressure.
But then the Senate voted by a tiny majority to repeal the ACA without a replacement. At around 1 in the morning. So, that was my plan gone out the window.
Now, I'm going to call and send personalized emails to my Representatives, in the hope that the House will see this nonsense for what it is and block the repeal.
Do I deny that the ACA needs some work? No. I realize that as a 24-year-old with a uterus, I'm in the demographic that it's tended to work out well for. I've gotten to stay on my parents' insurance and I've gotten birth control for free. (Hooray! No more migraines so severe they cause auditory hallucinations!)
But that's not what this is about. This is about the conservative party trying to put President Obama's legacy through the shredder. They don't care about making sure they have a less cumbersome healthcare system. They just know that it's called Obamacare, and so they want to KILL IT WITH FIRE.
I can't stress enough that this would be a death sentence for many Americans. A quiet, coolly legislated death sentence. It's not like they're going door to door rounding up disabled, sick, and mentally ill people and killing us en masse so that we won't be a burden on society. This isn't Nazi Germany. Not yet.
But if you deny people the care they need to live, you may as well be doing that. People with preexisting conditions, including children, will die because they are denied health coverage.
The effects aren't always so obvious. We already have a problem with high rates of homelessness among veterans and mentally ill people. If a person loses their healthcare and eventually their job and home as a result, and then freezes to death, that's on the GOP. If someone loses their health insurance and kills themselves -- from depression, chronic pain, PTSD, or as an alternative to dying of cancer without proper care -- then they may have pulled the trigger, but it would still be the GOP's fault.
I'm not entirely comfortable getting into all the reasons why this is a personal issue for me, but for now, know that it is. I'm going to be contacting my reps about it. If I lived in the state where I was registered to vote, I would consider making the trip to D.C. and walking into their office to deliver a message in person.
If you are a U.S. citizen, it would mean a great deal if you would call or write (a personalized letter or email, not a form letter) to your Representatives to let them know that repealing the ACA without a replacement is foolish.
Very strong words. So sorry for you and all the others this move is affecting. I agree that it's absolute garbage to remove something without a replacement. That's like driving a car with no wheels. I mean really? Can't just wait for the new tires to be put on? Get out of here!
ReplyDeleteThis new administration is only making me happier and happier to be a Jamaican. And I was already happy. Though I also decided after Trump won any visit to United States is on hold until he's gone. Now I'm even more sure than ever. Unless I can be convinced to visit a convention or something. But I'm gone after that.
Yes, totally. You take the car to the mechanic before taking it to the dump!
DeleteIt's really a shame, because the majority of the country voted for Hillary Clinton and NOT Trump. They don't have a mandate from the people to do this, and even Trump has expressed doubts about repealing the ACA...it's pretty strange and unpredictable over here right now.
Birth control is one of those things I recently had to deal with since my body kept kicking out the five year solution I wanted. I've got a 3 year one going now, so hopefully in 3 years, they will have come up with a replacement for the ACA.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I've seen people on Twitter crying out to repeal Obamacare...because they will still have the ACA. They didn't want to believe that the two were the same thing.
I'm glad you found a solution, at least a temporary one; I'm hoping for the best and plan to call and bother politicians about it as need be.
DeleteI attended a couple of talks and seminars on the ACA when it was first put out. A major problem with it was the media buzzwords like "socialized healthcare" and "Obamacare" charging up people's emotions and making them unable to look at the bill critically. Everything we do is political to some extent, but when it becomes unnecessarily politicized to where people don't even know that the ACA and Obamacare are the same thing, I just...ugh.