I received this email from Feinstein today.

[BigmanPigman]

I sign many Dem petitions, letters to Congress, etc and tell my personal healthcare story. What do you think about it? She wants to reach across the aisle.

Thank you for writing to me about the Affordable Care Act (ACA). I appreciate hearing from you, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

First, thank you for sharing your personal story with me. I recognize that the policies implemented by the ACA have helped to protect millions of Californians’ ability to receive quality, affordable care. As you illustrated in your letter, medical problems can be stressful, unexpected, and life-changing. I share your belief that it is critical for the federal government to help individuals and their families through these sorts of trying times.

That is why I am a strong supporter of the ACA, and I vehemently oppose its repeal. The ACA lowers premium costs for low- and middle-income consumers and requires insurance plans to cover essential benefits, like hospital care, mental health care, and prescription drugs. The law also protects consumers by providing coverage for those with preexisting conditions and by ending lifetime and yearly dollar limits on coverage. I believe it would be a grave mistake to roll back these patient protections, which have expanded health coverage to over 20 million Americans.

Unfortunately, Republicans in the Senate recently introduced multiple plans to repeal and replace the ACA. The latest attempt, known as the Graham-Cassidy proposal, was the worst of all Republican health care bills and posed a real danger to California and our nation. This bill would have kicked millions of Americans off of their insurance, would have severely cut financial assistance to low- and middle-income individuals and families, and would have banned women on Medicaid from receiving health care services from Planned Parenthood. What’s more, the bill would have ended the guarantee of coverage for essential health benefits—including hospital care, mental health care, and maternity care. This would have allowed insurers to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions, charging them more for coverage and not covering the care they need.
I voted against this monstrous bill. I believe this proposal is indefensible, and flies in the face of Congress’ role as public servants. I am appalled that Senate Republicans tried to pass the bill with only a single public hearing, held the same week they had planned to vote. This is a stark contrast to when the ACA was passed after nearly 100 committee, roundtable, and public meetings and 25 consecutive days of public debate on the Senate floor.

Fortunately, this proposal failed to gain enough support and was not voted on. This demonstrates that the only path forward on health care is to work in a bipartisan manner to improve the ACA. I recently proposed the “Affordable Health Insurance for the Middle Class Act” (S. 1307), which would eliminate the existing cutoff (400% of the federal poverty level) for financial help to pay for health insurance. Instead, the current tax credits would gradually phase out and ensure that people pay no more than 9.69 percent of their income for premiums on the individual market. By addressing these affordability issues within the individual market, it is my hope to make health care more affordable for middle class families.

The time has come for us to work across the aisle to build on the progress made by the ACA, rather than tear it apart. We owe it to the American people to improve our health care system, and I stand ready and willing to do that.

Please know that I have made careful note of your concerns, and I will continue to be vocal in my opposition to any reduction in health care coverage for Californians. I will also keep your letter in mind as I fight to guarantee that all Americans have quality and affordable health insurance.

Once again, thank you for writing. Should you have any other questions or comments, please call my Washington, D.C. office at [phone] or visit my website at feinstein.senate.gov. You can also follow me online at YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and you can sign up for my email newsletter at feinstein.senate.gov/newsletter.

Best regards.



Sincerely yours,


Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

[ghostsinthemachine]

1. Reaching across the aisle is the only way

That Dems will have any accomplishments, being in the majority. No way to get anything.

A little known Congressional factoid.

The phrase 'reach across the aisle" is part of the secret Congressional initiation ceremony. Every pol has to say it 100 times, while keeping a straight face the entire time in order to get first dibs on donuts at the Congressional cafeteria. It is part of the agreement, signed by every person in Congress before they receive their keys to the bathroom, which requires the phrase to be used at every press conference.