The Fight to Stop the Senate Repeal Bill Is Far from Over

By now you’ve heard that the Senate will not be voting this week on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), their heartless plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), decimate Medicaid, and kick 22 million people off health insurance. We should take a moment to recognize this as a hard-earned win.

The postponed vote is proof of the power and impact of people around the country raising their voices and contacting their lawmakers about the harm this bill would cause.

Your calls, letters, demonstrations, and story-telling are working!

This fight is not over
As hard as we’ve all worked to get to this point, it is crucial we recognize that this fight is far from over. While Leader McConnell has so far failed to hold a vote on his harmful bill– crafted through a secretive process and backroom deals — he wasted no time in announcing that he hopes to have a deal by this Friday.

How Senator McConnell will corral the votes he needs
Shortly after the bill was pulled yesterday, Senate Republicans met with President Trump at the White House to discuss the ACA repeal’s path forward. Senator McConnell has a $200 billion slush fund he can use to buy off some of the senators opposed to BCRA. Expect to see more of the kind of backroom deals involving earmarks and payoffs that we described yesterday.

Adding drops of funding here and there may be attractive to certain senators, but these funds will not come close to making up for what their states lose as a result of the bill’s massive cuts to Medicaid and rollbacks of vital consumer protections.

Senators must feel the heat from constituents this recess

When Congress returns on July 10 from the July 4 recess, the Senate could quickly take up and pass a revised bill.

That makes this recess critical. 

It’s time to turn up the heat. This is the recess to GET LOUD. It is more important than ever for advocates and activists to take action to stop efforts to repeal the ACA and cut Medicaid:

• Continue to make calls to senators
• Find senators at town halls, Independence Day parades, and other events when they’re home next week
• Attend and organize events in your state, such as rallies at District Senate offices
• Spread the word on social media about the damage this bill would do

In the coming days, we will have new resources to share to help you fight for health care over the July 4 recess, including talking points and tips for town halls. The public outcry over the Senate’s cynical effort to cut health care in exchange for tax breaks for the wealthy is making an impact, so keep it up!

For more information and resources to oppose the Senate bill, visit the Protect Our Care page.