Welcome Back Congress with a Request to Protect Our Care

When Congress returns to D.C. from August recess, they will dive right into work that presents both opportunities and threats for health care. As a result, September will be a good time for health care advocates and activists to engage with their elected officials to make sure they protect affordable health care.

On September 5, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee will begin bipartisan hearings on how to stabilize the health insurance marketplaces.

At the same time, Senators Cassidy and Graham have proposed a health care repeal plan, reviving talks about policies that will drastically cut the Medicaid program and gut private insurance coverage.

Congress’s fall health care agenda also includes the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which covers nearly 9 million children and must be extended by September 30.

On top of these important health care access and affordability items, we’ll be watching for threats to Medicaid that may arise in Congress’s efforts to pass a budget and a tax reform package.

This September, tell Congress to protect our care

As Congress begins to work its way through this packed September health care agenda, there are many actions that advocates and activists can take to urge Congress to move on from repeal and work together to enact bipartisan proposals to stabilize the marketplace and improve health care.

The following Families USA resources and tools can help you urge Congress to protect and improve health care:

Write a Letter to the Editor: Use our tool to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper urging Congress to move on from repeal and to work together on bipartisan solutions to improve health care.

Engage on Social Media: Share our new graphic on what Congress should do to stabilize the health insurance markets and improve health care:

Tweet at Your Members of Congress: Tweet the graphic above directly at your members of Congress to urge them to stabilize marketplaces and improve health care for consumers.

Sign or Share Our Petition: Sign our petition to tell Congress to move on from all proposals to repeal health care. https://familiesusa.org/tell-congress-it-is-time-to-move-on

Read Up and Share These Resources with Your Networks: For more on what is happening in Congress in September and the implications for health care consumers, read and share the following resources:

• Three Things Congress Must Do Now to Protect Marketplaces and Consumers
• Congress’s Emerging Health Policy Conversation Offers Both Opportunities and Risks
• Congress Must Pass CHIP Funding Soon

Stay tuned for more ways to engage from Families USA as Congress begins its work on a packed health care agenda this September.