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Felicia Burnett's picture

It’s time to double down to help protect health care for 24 million people. The vote is scheduled to happen within hours.

**Can you make a quick call to your U.S. Representative NOW and tell them: Vote “No!” for the American Health Care Act (AHCA) that would strip health care from millions? Use our hotline and we’ll walk you through the easy process: 1-888-523-8974

The time is now. Your voice, your phone calls, your signing onto letters is having an impact in stopping the truly outrageous and damaging health care proposal by Trump and the U.S. House Republicans. You are being heard!

How do we know? The vote has already been delayed many times because of public pressure. Now the vote has been re-set for later today. So the clock is ticking. It’s time to pump UP the volume. What’s going on? The U.S. House of Representatives is currently considering the American Health Care Act (AHCA). This terrible bill would repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA / Obamacare), as well as make massive cuts to our nation’s treasured and highly effective Medicaid program. And the vote is scheduled to happen later today.

We can win this if we turn up the pressure! Momentum is growing across the U.S. to stop this terrible bill and polls show that only 17% of the public approves of the proposed health care law. This is no surprise because the AHCA, as currently written, will cost lives and hurt our economy. But it’s not too late to stop this terrible bill from becoming law!

**Can you make a quick call to your U.S. Representative NOW and tell them: Vote “No!” for the American Health Care Act? Use our hotline and we’ll walk you through the process: 1-888-523-8974

It’s easy and just takes a minute of your time. When you call, you’ll hear a brief recording from me and then be routed to your U.S. Representative’s office. Tell the person who answers the phone that you live in their state, and that your member of Congress should vote “NO!” on the American Health Care Act (AHCA). It’s that simple!

Why is this bill so very bad? Well, the bill started out by stripping health care from tens of million of people—and now in a callous attempt to win over the more extreme members of the conservative right, U.S. House Republican leaders are reportedly adding several even more dangerous provisions that threaten the health and wellbeing of women and families to their health care bill. These changes would remove the requirement for insurance providers to cover essential health benefits like maternity care, mental health services, preventive care, and prescription drug coverage. 

Further: In a cruel move (and dramatic departure from existing protections in the Family and Medical Leave Act) the bill would also allow states to require new mothers who rely on Medicaid for their insurance to find work just 60 days after giving birth, or risk losing their health coverage. These provisions would be devastating to families whose children are born prematurely or with other special health care needs.

We live in a country that often claims to worship mothers, but in truth, becoming a mother puts women at a tremendous lifelong economic risk. A perfect case in point is this AHCA bill that’s scheduled to be voted on today. It's harmful and out of step with the modern world: While Canada, our neighbor to the north, has 52 weeks of paid family leave after a new baby arrives—and 177 countries have some form of paid family leave—in stark contrast, our country not only doesn’t have any national paid family leave, this AHCA bill actively cuts new moms on Medicaid off access to health care if they aren’t working within under 9 weeks of giving birth. This is not how we lift families and build our economy. This is how we break our nation down.

We need YOU to speak out NOW! Just dial 1-888-523-8974 and we’ll connect you.

With these irresponsible, callous new provisions, the American Health Care Act is an even more dangerous step in the wrong direction for our country. It would threaten the wellbeing of women, communities of color, families, people who live in rural areas, 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.

To be clear, the enactment of the AHCA would be an absolute crisis for our nation, particularly for those who are in vulnerable communities, 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 House must reject it!

It’s critical that your member of Congress hears from you today! We need YOU to speak out NOW! Just dial 1-888-523-8974 and we’ll connect you.

The time to call is now. Moms, dads, and concerned people are speaking out and it’s making a difference! Let’s keep up the pressure!


The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of MomsRising.org.

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