On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office released their report on what would happen if the Affordable Care Act repeal bill passes - and it’s horrifying. Under the proposed plan, 14 million people will lose their health insurance by next year. Over the next 10 years, that number grows to 24 million people. The House is voting on this bill as early as THURSDAY - and we need your help to stop them. Contact your Members of Congress and tell them to vote NO on ACA repeal. You can call over the weekend and leave a message, or make plans to call during the week.
As if those numbers weren’t bad enough, the CBO report estimates that Medicaid would lose $880 billion in funding, destroying Medicaid as we know it. Meanwhile, the bill includes $883 billion in tax cuts for the wealthiest 10% of Americans. Here’s what the average person with a disability would get:
An average tax cut of $0
Insurance will be harder to buy, and insurance companies will be allowed to charge more money for worse health coverage
24 million Americans will lose health insurance by 2026
Huge slashes to funding for services people with disabilities rely on every day
A plan that takes away coverage from 24 million people is not a replacement for the ACA.
There’s no time to waste. Some members of Congress are starting to express concerns about this bill after hearing from you. We need to keep the pressure up and make sure this isn’t just empty talk. You can find contact information for your members of Congress here. Call your Senators and Representative and tell them to vote NO on ACA repeal.
Script for calling your Members of Congress: My name is [your full name]. I’m a constituent of [Representative Name/Senator Name], and I live in [your town]. I’m calling to ask [the Representative/the Senator] to vote NO on repealing the Affordable Care Act. [Number of people] of your constituents rely on the insurance they got under the Affordable Care Act. This bill would take lifesaving health coverage away from your constituents, and it would destroy funding for Medicaid services that people depend on to live in the community. A bill that causes 24 million Americans to lose their health coverage isn’t a replacement for the Affordable Care Act. Please vote NO on the repeal.
There is a lot at risk in this moment, but we really can make a difference by speaking out. We can stop this.
Onward,
Julia Bascom Executive Director Autistic Self Advocacy Network
P.S. - ASAN’s new plain-language toolkit They Work For Us: A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Getting Through to your Elected Officials includes strategies, scripts, and templates to help you effectively communicate with your elected officials. We also have a separate factsheet on How to Call Your Elected Officials, which has information about how to participate in call-ins if you have phone anxiety or don’t speak.
