Act now: Host a speak-out to stop repeal of Obamacare

MoveOn members are mobilizing for a massive national day of action to defend the ACA and Medicare. Will you sign up to host an event?

Dear MoveOn member,

Since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, America has seen the largest drop in the number of underinsured persons in over 40 years. Yet, before Trump is even sworn into office, Republicans are already conspiring to make good on his promise to take away health care for tens of millions of Americans. 

Paul Ryan and Trump's pick as Secretary of Health and Human Services want to privatize and cut Medicare and Medicaid. The GOP Congress also wants to use a maneuver in the Senate to pass a repeal of Obamacare before January 20 so that the new president has a bill to sign the day he is sworn in—kicking almost 30 million people off their current insurance through the ACA.¹

Not on our watch!

We're working with allies to organize public speak-outs at Republican senators' and representatives' local offices as soon as they come home for their December recess. We'll share our stories of the life-threatening impacts that taking away our health care would have, so they have to grapple with the reality of what they're considering.

Will you sign up now to host a "Don't Take Away Our Health Care" speak-out outside of Representative Donovan's district office on Tuesday, December 20, as part of a MoveOn national day of action? 
To sign up to host, just click here.

You can choose any local office for Representative Donovan. Here's one that's probably close to you:

7308 13th Avenue 
Brooklyn, NY 11228
718-630-5277

We'll help you plan your event, recruit others to join you, invite you to a special strategy briefing, and provide all the materials you'll need to be successful. This moment calls on all of us to step up and speak out.

Earlier this week, MoveOn stood shoulder to shoulder with Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer, and Nancy Pelosi, along with dozens of allies, as we turned in the signatures of nearly 1 million Americans who don't want to see Medicare slashed and privatized. It was a first step in our larger fight to keep Republicans from attacking the health care programs that benefit all Americans, from all states, of all backgrounds, and from all walks of life.

Here's more background on what Republicans are trying to do and how we can stop them. Usually in the Senate you need 60 votes to pass a bill because of the filibuster. But when it comes to the budget, and any bills related to the budget, you need only 50 votes. Republicans are expected to have 51 or 52 seats in the new Senate which begins on January 3.

To stop this, we need two things to happen—we need Democrats to stand together to defend our health care, and we need three Senate Republicans to do the right thing. And we have a path to victory, as several Republicans, like Senators Susan Collins and Lamar Alexander, are—appropriately—publicly expressing doubts that taking away people's health care is a good idea. 

And in the House, where Republicans have voted to repeal Obamacare dozens of times, we expect more of the same. But with Trump headed to the White House, they're closer than ever before to taking away our health care. Now it's not posturing; it's real.

In years past, we've seen Congress turn on a dime on health care issues when they face an outpouring from righteously angry constituents.

We have a chance to stop the Republicans' sneak attack, but we have to act fast. If we wait until January, it could be too late.

On Tuesday, December 20, MoveOn members and allies across the country will show up in front the offices of their members of Congress to sound the alarm "Don't take away our health care" for the media and all to hear. 

Will you sign up to organize an event outside of Representative Donovan's district office?
Yes. I’ll sign up to host now.

If we do this, we’ll not only save life-saving health care for millions of Americans around the holidays. We’ll also demonstrate that when we stand together, we can win. Even in the face of an impending Trump presidency.

Every single one of us has something to lose in this fight. Either we get our health coverage through Obamacare, Medicaid, or Medicare, or we have loved ones who do. Democrats and Republicans. Trump voters, Clinton voters, third-party voters, nonvoters. It’s a political gamble to take away people’s health care, and it's one that Republicans think they can get away with.

They won’t, if we speak up.

Thanks for all you do.

—Katharine, Victoria, Gabriela, Chris and the rest of the team

P.S. We'll support you every step of the way. Click here to sign up to host a "Don't Take Away Our Health Care" speak-out now.

P.P.S. This week MoveOn members stood with Democratic leaders in Congress to defend our rights to healthcare and resisting any attempt to cut Medicare. Check out this video, and then sign up to host a "Don't Take Away Our Health Care" speak-out near you on Tuesday, December 20. We are building momentum in this fight, and we all need to be involved.

Source:

1. "Study: Uninsured Rate Could Rise Above Pre-ObamaCare Levels Under Repeal," The Hill, December 7, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/7056?t=7&akid=174370.10220574.J1wmBI

Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to contain the damage of Donald Trump's presidency, to defeat hate with love, and to begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity and decency and the future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us?

Click here to chip in $2.70, or whatever you can afford. 

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