PROTECTING AND EXPANDING HEALTHCARE AND MEDICAID ACCESS: A WINNING ELECTION STRATEGY
ACTION ONE: CALL YOUR SENATORS
SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR WYDEN AND MERKLEY:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
It is a travesty that our government is actively working to undermine the ACA and to limit access to adequate healthcare to fewer and fewer citizens and residents. As you ready the Senate for an impeachment trial, it is imperative that you continue to (1) work to protect and expand existing healthcare and Medicaid coverage and (2) make sure they are adequately funded in the next budget. Your constituents are counting on you.
CALL SENATOR MERKLEY
CALL SENATOR WYDEN
ACTION TWO: CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS
Not sure who your U.S. Representative is? Find out here.
SAMPLE SCRIPTS FOR REPRESENTATIVES:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
It is a travesty that our government is actively working to undermine the ACA and to limit access to adequate healthcare to fewer and fewer citizens and residents. As the House continues to hold impeachment hearings and you consider impeaching Trump and Pence, it is imperative that you also (1) work to protect and expand existing healthcare and Medicaid coverage and (2) make sure they are adequately funded in the next budget. Your constituents are counting on you.
CALL SUZANNE BONAMICI (OR-01)
CALL GREG WALDEN (OR-02)
CALL BLUMENAUER (OR-03)
CALL PETER DEFAZIO (OR-04)
CALL KURT SCHRADER (OR-05)
ACTION THREE: HELP REGISTER VOTERS
Indivisible Oregon is organizing letter-writing parties using Swing Left tools to contact voters whose voter registration data may need updating. Find a letter writing party near you or organize one yourself: https://swingleft.org/events.
BACKGROUND:
Democrats won on Tuesday in Virginia and Kentucky by focusing on protecting and expanding access to healthcare and Medicaid.
With 2020 open enrollment underway, Trump is instead seeking the ACA’s demise:
- permitting short-term “skinny” plans that exempt preexisting conditions and other “essential benefits”
- cutting enrollment period by half and slashing outreach budgets by 80+%
- sharply cutting marketplace financial assistance
- ending Medicaid expansion by permitting eligibility restrictions and work requirements
- threatening to withhold green cards/citizenship if immigrants use Medicaid and CHIP
- urging states to greater scrutinize Medicaid eligibility and add layers of red tape
- changing Medicaid to block grant funding
That 27.5 million Americans lacked health insurance in 2018 and that percent without insurance rose for first time since ACA’s passage shows Trump’s succeeding.
The Trump administration’s cruelty cannot go unnoticed and unpunished. Our MoCs must
- continue to work towards impeaching Trump and Pence
- protect and expand existing healthcare and Medicaid coverage
- ensure adequate healthcare/Medicaid funding in whatever budget resolution’s enacted.
And, we must work to convince others that their involvement in the 2020 election is imperative to achieve equal access to healthcare, a basic human right.
