Yikes. We need you to raise your voice with us now: House Speaker Paul Ryan just released the U.S. House of Representatives “replacement” plan for the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) and, well, it’s bad. Like, really, really bad.

 

 

 

This is an awful situation and the clock is ticking. So please take a moment to click and sign our open letter -- and to share the action link on Facebook and Twitter. Our voices have been making a difference on healthcare. Now it’s time to pump up our volume. The House Republican’s new plan, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), is a dangerous step in the wrong direction—it would harm women and children, people in rural areas and communities of color; while shifting costs onto hard working families. The plan obliterates the Affordable Care Act and proposes a weak replacement that would make health insurance less affordable, less accessible, and less comprehensive.

 

The AHCA, as currently written, will cost lives and hurt our economy.

 

And on top of this, Republican lawmakers are rushing it through the legislative process with little to no opportunity for Democrats—or the American people—to make adjustments or even fully understand the wide-ranging effects it will have on our families’ and communities’ health and well-being. 

 

Time is short. Voting is happening now. So the clock is ticking for us to raise our voices—and NOW is a critical time to make our voices heard and for YOU to take action!

 

 

Here’s what we do know: This disastrous new act, the AHCA, makes a mockery of every campaign promise President Trump made about healthcare. The plan would create a health care crisis by throwing millions of people off of their insurance. If it is enacted, fewer people would be covered and those who do have insurance would have weaker protections and face significantly higher costs. 

 

It also sets the stage for deep, punitive, permanent cuts to Medicaid in just a few years [6], which would cause grave harm to some of the most vulnerable people in our country including low-income families, people with disabilities, rural communities, and the elderly; with a compounding impact in Black, Latinx, Asian, Native American, and LGBTQ+ communities.

 

 

The bill would allow insurance companies to raise premiums and out-of-pocket costs, especially for seniors. The only winners would be the wealthy, and the losers, as too often is the case, would be women, communities of color, the sickest Americans, and all those who struggle to pay for health coverage and care.

 

Further harming the health of women and families, the American Health Care Act would defund Planned Parenthood, cutting off health care—including birth control, cancer screenings and other essential health services—for millions of low-income women, those who have no other health care provider. Blocking access to care at Planned Parenthood hurts communities that are struggling to get by the most, as well as communities of color who face systemic barriers to care. 

 

It’s flat out awful. The new plan proposed by the House Republicans would put coverage out of reach for millions of families. It undermines one of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) greatest achievements—granting protection to those with pre-existing conditions—by forcing those with any significant gap in their insurance coverage to pay hefty penalties. Experts agree, this could lead to a toxic health care environment in which only those who can afford coverage get the health care they need.

 

This is not right! This is not ok! And we need YOU to speak out against legislation that will make our families less healthy and our economy suffer!