Save Medicaid Action Alert! | Access 2 Independence

Hello everyone,

As many of you know, there is a bill (the American Health Care Act) being pushed through the Senate that would both cap benefits and cut over $800 billion of Medicaid, leading to a decrease in necessary community services that support independent living, as well as making healthcare unavailable to millions of people.

Information on the impact of this legislation if passed

(as described by the American Association of People with Disabilities):

Decimates Medicaid with $834 billion in cuts over the next decade(Center for Budget and Policy Priorities)

By ending the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, the AHCA will reduce Medicaid enrollment by 14 million people by 2026
Of the 70 million people who currently rely on Medicaid, 10 million are non-elderly people with disabilities

Results in 23 million people losing their health care by 2026

According to a recent Center on Budget and Policy Priorities article, there are 11.2 million children with disabilities, or 15% of all children, and 44% of them rely on Medicaid

Does not protect people with pre-existing conditions

According to a recent Center for American Progress article, there are over 130 million people with pre-existing conditions

Increases the likelihood of more people with disabilities going into nursing homes and institutions

According to a recent Center on Budget and Policy Priorities article, as of 2013, there are approximately 3 million people who use home and community-based services

Reduces or eliminates essential health benefits including: prescription drugs, mental health services, rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices, and more.

Before the ACA, many health insurers did not cover these basic services (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

The Senate plans on putting this bill to a vote before the 4th of July, so we must act quickly to stop this bill now. While we do have limited time, we can make a difference. We only need one or two more Senators to say “NO” in order to stop this bill. If you are able, please set up a meeting with your Senator’s staff, or call them and follow up with an email if possible.

To make this as easy as possible, we are including contact information for Iowa Senators, and a script in case you want something to go off of when talking with your Senator’s staff.

Also, it is important for all US Senators to know that we the people demand hearings be scheduled for this bill with appropriate time for bipartisan input. To directly ask for hearings, call the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions) Committee and the Senate Finance Committee (contact information below).

Iowa Senator and Senate Contact Information

Joni Ernst – (R – IA)
111 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3254
Contact: www.ernst.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Chuck Grassley – (R – IA)
135 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3744
Contact: www.grassley.senate.gov/contact

Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions) Committee
(202) 224-5375

Senate Finance Committee
(202) 224-4515

Below is a sample script to use when talking with your Senators. Please personalize your message as much as possible to show your Senators just how much this bill will affect you and your loved ones.

SCRIPT:

“My name is (NAME) and I am a constituent of Senator (NAME).

I am calling to ask Senator (NAME) to vote NO on any legislation that will cap and cut Medicaid and put healthcare out of reach for millions of Americans, including the ACA repeal bill.

I oppose the “American Health Care Act” because it cuts Medicaid support services for people with disabilities living in the community. Without these community services, people will be forced to move into nursing facilities which actually costs Medicaid *$300,000 more per person and is a step backwards in protecting disability rights. Additionally, this bill will make healthcare unavailable to millions of people.

People (like me / in the disability community) rely on Medicaid for our health and independence, and this bill would be detrimental to people with disabilities in (STATE). I hope I can count on you to stand up and protect the rights of the disability community in (STATE) and around the country!”

*Referenced from the National Council on Disability (an independent federal agency that makes policy recommendations to the President, Congress and federal agencies).

While it is important to talk with our Iowa Senators, there are some key Senators in other states that may be more receptive to our message. If you have any family/friends in these states, let them know how they can make a difference by forwarding them this message and/or asking them to call their Senators. A list of priority Senators can be found below:

Priority Senators in other states:

Alaska: Murkowski and Sullivan
Arkansas: Cotton
Arizona: Flake
Colorado: Gardner
Georgia: Isakson
Indiana: Young
Louisiana: Cassidy
Maine: Collins
Missouri: Blunt
Montana: Daines
Nebraska: Fischer and Sasse
Nevada: Heller
Ohio: Portman
Pennsylvania: Toomey
South Carolina: Graham
Tennessee: Alexander and Corker
West Virginia: Capito
Wisconsin: Johnson

Finally, remember to spread the word.

The more people involved, the louder our voice!

Thank you in advance for your hard work.

Together we can stop this bill and make our voices heard!