As tens of thousands of people came together in several states across the country on Jan. 15 at dozens of different rallies to oppose the repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and with the presidential inauguration just hours away, all eyes are on congressional Republicans’ first major move since the 115th Congress was sworn in.
The outcome of the decision by congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration to repeal and replace the ACA (despite the lack of a concrete alternative plan) will set the tone for Trump’s presidency.
I am reminded of what MLK said: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhuman.” Is this how we honor the legacy of a civil rights crusader?
The attempt to repeal the ACA goes beyond my policy preference or yours. It goes beyond politics. It is personal. This attempt, which says to about 18 million people that they will no longer have health insurance, is unconscionable and deeply immoral. It is wrong that in the dead of the night, with little debate, our Senate voted down several amendments and measures which sought to lower prescription drug prices, protect rural hospitals and provide coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions.
I urge you all to ask yourselves — does this make sense? Does it make sense that our representatives voted to essentially allow the most vulnerable and sick among us to go without receiving vital care?
Why would they act against our best interest? The answer always (as I have said before and will say a million times until it proves no longer true) always, always, always comes back to money and greed. Who do you think is, for the most part, funding our Congress? Perhaps it is someone or some group that would benefit from these actions?
Perhaps Big Pharma and insurance companies pour large sums of campaign contributions to our representatives, and in return, our Congress acts to benefit them — not us. Our republic is being distorted in every crucial way by the presence of big money and secret spending.
It is important to question our leadership and demand representation. In a functioning democracy, leadership would not be following through with something that is widely unpopular among the Apeople.
NPR reports that, “a poll released Friday (Jan. 6th) by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that 75 percent of Americans say they either want lawmakers to leave Obamacare alone, or repeal it only when they can replace it with a new health care law.” This means that less than a quarter of Americans actually favor the immediate repeal of the ACA.
