May 06, 2017

Protest Health Care Reform


 

The House just narrowly passed the Trump health bill, the first step towards repealing the Affordable Care Act. This is a seriously flawed bill that allows health insurers to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions, cuts Medicaid funding drastically, and will seriously increase premiums for retirees. For citizens living abroad this is a serious blow, since many of us do not have current U.S. health care policies, and many of us would want to return home if we should become seriously ill. This will make it harder, if not impossible, for many of us to get coverage when returning to the U.S. All Democrats and 20 Republicans voted against the bill, which will now go to the Senate.

AARP, which has been a leader in opposing the repeal has just published a link (here and also pasted below) where you can type in your U.S. address (including 9 digit zip code) and it will take you to a form that pulls up the name of your House member, show how he/she voted, and if he/she voted for repeal gives you a form with draft letter to click on to tell them that you disapprove of their vote. If you aren’t an AARP member you will need to edit the letter a bit but can still use their platform to send a letter letting your House member know that you don't approve.

 https://action.aarp.org/site/SPageNavigator/vote_center.html?intcmp=AE-ADV-IL-AHCA-VOTE

Thank you for your attention,
Marian Dent, Secretary DA Russia