The fight to protect our health care is moving fast – and we know it might be tough to keep up with what’s happening in Washington.
With so much changing each day, you don’t want to miss a beat. Check out this weekly recap as we break down the latest on the Senate’s disastrous bill.
Here are the top stories to be aware of as your start your week. You’ll want to share these with your friends & family too.
- Insurers in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces had their most profitable first quarter ever—showing that the ACA is a stable and viable option for health care coverage in the U.S.
Health insurers selling on #ACA exchanges just had their most profitable first quarter ever #BCRA https://t.co/7sOt48WGBZ
— Chad Terhune (@chadterhune) July 10, 2017
- Senator Mitch McConnell delayed the start of the Senate August recess until the third week in August, citing “work on health care reform” as one of the reasons. But this delay doesn’t mean our fight is over. Call your Senator now at 202-839-9838 and ask them to vote ‘no.’
Just in: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell delays start of recess until third week in August https://t.co/LUrnIymKIP pic.twitter.com/DsXZOonfTE
— CNN (@CNN) July 11, 2017
- Senate Republicans played yet another trick on their constituents last week. This time, they claimed “no Senate bill yet exists.” Trust us: The bill is real and would have real effects on millions of Americans.
The Senate GOP’s audacious health care Jedi mind trick https://t.co/efJtnq3bvI
— Vox (@voxdotcom) July 11, 2017
- Senator Ted Cruz proposed an amendment to the Senate Republicans’ health care bill that would hurt Americans with pre-existing conditions even more than the bill currently does. His proposal would permit insurers that offer at least one plan in the ACA marketplace to also sell plans that do not comply with the same standards. This could impact 130 million Americans with pre-existing health conditions.
Here’s what our expert @sarahL202 has to say: Cruz’s amendment worsens an already harmful bill: https://t.co/M5JO8pKNy5 pic.twitter.com/EhAUfxdcMS
— Center on Budget (@CenterOnBudget) July 14, 2017
- Senate Republicans added a provision that would exempt members of Congress and their staff from their health care plan. Yes, you read that right.
Now both the House and the Senate have put forward health bills that exempt their own coverage.https://t.co/69gU572OhE
— Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) July 13, 2017
- Senator John McCain had surgery to remove a blood clot above his eye, resulting in a delay of the health care vote until next week.
Sen. John McCain had surgery to remove a blood clot above his left eye, a statement from McCain’s office said https://t.co/WhMS4Tu471 pic.twitter.com/f6m30zSLRZ
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) July 16, 2017
- Contrary to popular belief, those with health insurance aren’t excluded from the harmful effects of the Senate health care bill. While 22 million will lose coverage, nearly 177 million Americans will end up paying higher premiums.
NEW: Major new Tcare finding.
If you’re not 1 of the 22mm losing coverage, you’ll be one of the 177mm paying more.https://t.co/YeNNyIuaSQ
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) July 17, 2017
The Senate bill may be delayed, but the fight to save our health care is not over. Our vigilant outreach has been working, use the call tool below to easily call your Senator and urge them to vote NO.