The Rs take away ACA, we go for Medicare for all...same 51 votes
With the coming cruelty of the Republican Congress’ all but certain repeal of Obamacare and the denial of medical care to even their own family members, I have been despondent about the future. You see I have Crohn’s Disease, a severe and chronic illness, which insurers would not touch in the era before Obamacare. In the era before Obamacare, it was hard to find a job because the medical debt that showed up on a credit check was an indication of an illness—an illness which would dramatically increase the amount an employer had to pay for health insurance. To me, a repeal of Obamacare is being relegated to the shadows once again by society. It will make my life very, very difficult.
I have been thinking about how we can restore Obamacare or pass something even better if the Republicans act out the cruel nihilism of Ayn Rand now that they have attained power. I do not trust Chuck Schumer, who just two years ago called Obamacare an error, to do the right thing and bring the Affordable Care Act back if Republicans repeal it. Senator Schumer, being the politician who cares more about longevity than doing the right thing, won’t restore the Affordable Care Act because of what happened in the past. This is despite the fact that a repeal of the Affordable Care Act is sure to cause mass layoffs in the health care sector and would likely prompt a recession.
We need to give Schumer’s opponents within the Democratic Caucus the power to pressure, and drag, him into doing the right thing for the 52 million Americans who are like me and won’t be able to get health insurance or a job because of their pre-existing condition after forthcoming repeal of Obamacare.
Republicans plan to repeal Obamacare with just 51 votes, despite the fact it took sixty votes to pass it, by using the parliamentary trick of budget reconciliation. If Republicans set the precedent that it only takes 50 votes to change existing health care policy, Democrats should make it clear that the next time they have the majority they too will use budget reconciliation to make major changes to health care policy. However, instead of using that power to make people’s lives more difficult, Democratic Senators will use that power to make people’s lives easier. Democratic Senators shoud sign a letter which says the following:
“if the Republicans use budget reconciliation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the precedent that it only takes 50 votes to make major changes to health care will have been set; the next time Democrats have the majority in the Senate, we will use the budget reconciliation process to lower the eligibility age for Medicare from sixty five years old to one day old. In short, if Republicans take the unprecedented step of repealing the Affordable Care Act with 51 votes, we firmly believe that a precedent that will allow us to pass Medicare for all with 51 votes will have been set. And because we believe that our constituents should not have to sleep on broken arms and go without the dignity of medical care for their ailments, we will pass Medicare for All with 51 votes the next time we are entrusted with a Majority in the Senate.”
Please contact your Senator and ask them to stand up to unprecedented Senate rule changes by the Republicans in their never ending effort to make the lives of their constituents more difficult.
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