Senate Republicans are currently working in secret on a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and overhaul the American health care system. The process is so secretive, in fact, that even Trump's Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price hasn't seen what's in it yet. But we do know that Senate Republicans are working from the bill passed by the House of Representatives, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found would leave 23 million fewer Americans insured by 2026. And the 13 GOP Senators crafting the bill (who all happen to be men) are doing so without any public hearings or open drafting sessions.
And it's happening quickly. Republicans are reportedly hoping to vote on the bill by June 30 so that it can be finalized before the July 4 holiday recess. Given that the bill will affect 1/6 of the American economy not to mention millions of lives, it's more important than ever to speak out. Here are some resources for doing so:
The most effective way to make your voice heard is to call your representatives and share your story and thoughts about the bill. You can find the name and contact information for each GOP senator's dedicated health staffer at Is TrumpCare Still Dead?
If you aren't represented by a GOP senator, you can also use the same database to call the offices of the 13 GOP Senators working on the bill: Mitch McConnell (KY), Orrin Hatch (UT), Lamar Alexander (TN), Mike Enzi (WY), John Thune (SD), Ted Cruz (TX), Mike Lee (UT), Tom Cotton (AR), Cory Gardner (CO), John Barrasso (WY), John Cornyn (TX), Rob Portman (OH), and Pat Toomey (PA).
This simple-to-use Trumpcare Toolkit has pre-written tweets and Facebook messages, as well as phone numbers, for specifically targeted Republican Senators. The site also provides stats on the number of people in each of those Senators' states who would lose health care coverage under Trumpcare.
You can sign this Save My Care letter demanding GOP Senators hold a public hearing on the health care bill before the Senate votes on it.
And here are some resources for health care talking points:
Visit ACASignups.net to find detailed health care stats for all 435 congressional districts. The stats are based on the CBO score of the House bill, which, again, is the template Senate Republicans are working from. California, for instance, would likely see over 2.5 million people lose coverage under Trumpcare.
Get talking points and more information on Indivisible's website. Is TrumpCare Still Dead? also has a page of talking points and statistics.
And, finally, Axios takes a different approach by sharing stats on how many people gained coverage under the Obamacare.
Many thanks to writer and comedian Nicole Silverberg for sharing these resources with me. You can follow Nicole on Twitter.