Tell Congress to oppose Trumpcare!
Trumpcare, or t he American Health Care Act (AHCA) was just released to the public -- and it's a train wreck.
By some estimates, Trumpcare would rob 24 million people of their access to affordable insurance. It would let insurance companies charge older people more money for coverage while cutting the subsidies that help them afford it. And it would give a $600 billion tax cut to millionaires and billionaires -- directly taking money from subsidies that help poorer people afford health insurance -- while giving $400 million to rich insurance executives.
We have less than two weeks to stop President Trump and House Republicans from passing this bill. W e can beat it if we make sure that every elected official in both houses of Congress hears from their constituents now. Sending a personal letter to your Congressional representatives in the House and Senate is a very effective form of contact -- w ill you send a letter telling them to reject the American Health Care Act today? We’ve provided helpful talking points and writing tips below to make writing your letter easy.
Talking points
Trumpcare will lead to as many as 24 million people losing access to affordable health insurance. The people who’ll be hurt are my friends, family, neighbors, and community members. Instead of covering the remaining 10% of Americans who don’t have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, Trumpcare takes us backwards.
Trumpcare is just a big giveaway to the richest of the rich! $600 billion in tax cuts go to the wealthiest American families and big corporations -- reducing subsidies that help poorer, working Americans buy health insurance. Another $400 million tax cut goes to insurance companies to pay their top executives.
Trumpcare imposes an age tax on older Americans. Insurance companies will be able to charge older people up to 5 times more than they charge younger people, instead of 3 times as much under the current system. Trumpcare throws grandma and grandpa under the bus!
Trumpcare won’t force insurers to cover mental health or addiction recovery services. America is in the middle of an ongoing opiod drug epidemic that killed more than 30,000 people in 2015. And opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 1999. Trumpcare's policy is irresponsible and heartless.
Trumpcare would weaken Medicaid, undermining coverage for another 70 million people.
It's irresponsible to pass Trumpcare after so little policy scrutiny or public debate. The Affordable Care Act was passed more than year after it was first introduced --with hundreds of hours of hearings, dozens of expert witnesses, and numerous bipartisan amendments. Republicans are trying to pass Trumpcare in just a few weeks to satisfy an artificial deadline, and that's just reckless.
Writing Tips
Share personal stories or experiences. Share how will Trumpcare will affect you, your family, your loved ones, or your community if it were to pass. Or share how the Affordable Care Act has helped you, your loved ones, or your community.
Be polite. Even if you're angry, please address your representatives respectfully. It will make them more inclined to listen to what you have to say. Avoid profanity, crude language, and insults.
Use your own words. Please feel welcome to use the talking points we've provided, but if you can, please try to put them in your own words. You can also use your own reasons for opposing Trumpcare.
Keep it simple. You only need to include one to three arguments for opposing Trumpcare in your letter. Use the ones that resonate most with your values or personal experiences.
NOTE: Although you may be disappointed with your representative, please be respectful. Use this opportunity to offer constructive feedback. Please abstain from negative, disparaging language, including, but not limited to: expletives, comments about race, gender, sexual identity, or religion, and anything specific to appearance.