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Protect Our Care Talking Points on Senate Republicans’ Sneaky Health Care Repeal to Give Tax Breaks to Billionaires and Big Corporations

By December 1, 2017No Comments

Senate Republicans just passed a tax bill that repeals your health care to pay for another massive tax break for the wealthiest and corporations. What this means is simple: while the wealthy and corporations get a tax break, middle-class families will get double digit premium increases, 13 million people will lose their coverage, older Americans will get an age tax and $25 billion in Medicare funding will be cut.

There is still time to stop this sneaky health care repeal, but the time to act is NOW. If every House Republican who voted against health repeal last time or voted against the tax bill combine with House Democrats, there are enough votes to stop sneaky repeal.

After failing multiple times and despite major public opposition, Senate Republicans just voted for a sneaky repeal of health care that raises premiums by double digits, rips away coverage for 13 million Americans, and forces $25 million in Medicare cuts — all to pay for special tax breaks for millionaires and big corporations.

  • The Congressional Budget Office estimated that 13 million people will lose their health insurance and premiums will rise 10% as a result of the health repeal included in the Senate tax plan they just passed.
  • Older people would be hit with an age tax. AARP estimated premiums for people over 50 would increase up to $1,500 because of health repeal.
  • The CBO said the GOP tax bill would trigger $25 billion in Medicare cuts.

Republicans who support health care repeal can’t pretend like they can fix the harm — it doesn’t work. Passing Alexander-Murray after voting for repeal is like installing guardrails on the highway after your car has gone over the cliff.

The leading experts — patient groups, insurers, doctors and hospitals — and more than 2,400 faith leaders and the American people oppose health repeal, including:

  • Nineteen leading patient groups, including the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Cancer Society opposed the health repeal in the tax bill, writing, “many individuals with serious health care needs, including patients with chronic or major health conditions, who by definition, have a pre-existing condition, may not be able to afford coverage.”
  • Six leading industry groups — America’s Health Insurance Plans, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and the Federation of American Hospitals — who warned of “serious consequences” should the mandate be repealed.
  • More than 2,400 faith leaders warned “that the number of uninsured individuals would increase by 13 million by 2025…violates our faith teaching.”
  • A mere 25 percent of American voters approve the Republican tax plan, according to a poll by Quinnipiac University.

The Senate just jammed through a partisan secret tax bill that snuck in health repeal without any hearings

  • The Senate did not hold any hearings with outside experts on the repeal of the individual mandate and the full economic impacts were not understood at the time the Senate voted to pass it.
  • Health repeal was not in the House tax bill and was not in the Senate bill Republicans submitted to the Finance Committee.
  • It was snuck in at the last minute without debate.