6.22.17 – Health Care: The Best Defense is a Good Offense
Republican Senators just unveiled their plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, HR1628. This bill would end Obamacare, eliminating health care coverage for 23 million, cutting $800 billion from Medicaid, and blocking reimbursements to Planned Parenthood.
We demand better. National Women's Liberation says: it's time to support Expanded & Improved Medicare for All, a system where all people pay into a general health care fund and everyone receives health care without the premiums and deductibles private insurance companies use to profit from our wellness and illness.
The AHCA passed the House in March, and yet HR 676: Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act has gained more cosponsors than ever before. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is getting ready to introduce a companion bill in the Senate, but he needs other senators to stand with him and cosponsor this bill. It's time to demand that every Democratic senator (and any Republicans) sign onto Medicare for All. It's time for them to understand that we won't settle for anything less.
Medicare for All would would cover everyone no matter our employment situation, marital status, or ability to pay. It would save money because it would cut insurance company profits and hours wasted on paperwork out of the equation.
TAKE ACTION:
- Call the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to one of your senators.
- Once you are connected, say:
“As your constituent, I'm calling to urge you to vote “NO” on the HR1628 Obamacare repeal and instead co-sponsor Bernie Sanders's Medicare for All bill. I should be able to access health care no matter my job, my marital status, or my ability to pay. I deserve health care no matter what. All nations with comparable health care infrastructure provide every person with quality health care, and we can, too.”
When you're done, hang up, call again, and ask for your other senator.
Why is health care a feminist issue?
NWL has campaigned for a universal health care system – everybody in, nobody out! – since our founding because women in particular would benefit from the independence from employers and spouses Medicare for All would provide.
To learn more about why NWL is making Medicare for All a priority, please read Women's Liberation and National Health Care: Confronting the Myth of America (New York: Redstockings, 2001).
You can read NWL's full statement on the American Health Care Act (AHCA) here.