Dear Citizens:
It is not too late to contact our senators and urge them to vote “no” on the revisions of the Affordable Care Act. Our Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who is on the committee tasked with drafting the new legislation, has not even seen the bill! He said, “It’s not being written by us. It’s apparently being written by a small handful of staffers for members of the Republican leadership in the Senate.” Lee stated, “We should’ve been able to see the bill weeks ago if we were going to vote on it next week.” (Source: Salt Lake Tribune article.)
When the ACA first passed, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, was quoted as saying, “It is really unbelievable that we are being asked to move forward on legislation that will reform one-sixth of the American economy and impact every American life and business without actually knowing what is in the bill.” Yet he is dead-set on passing a bill under the same circumstances that will cause millions to go uninsured again, penalize older healthy people, allow insurance companies to charge whatever they want for “pre-existing conditions” – which used to be expensive issues like cancer, but now even include high cholesterol! It removes provisions to protect low-wage earners, yet gives huge tax credits for wealthy people. It removes premium subsidies for rural areas where health care is more expensive.
I find it disgusting and ironic that Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who has quit as our representative, is using his Obamacare to the fullest to get elective operations. He hasn’t been available in office since announcing his resignation, yet flies to Washington to vote for the very bill that if it was law now, he may not have gotten his surgeries, nor even have insurance! Note that Reps. Mia Love, Chris Stewart and Rob Bishop, all R-Utah, also voted for the bill.
Our State Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, favors fixing the flaws in ACA, just as polls show nearly 67 percent of Americans are in favor of ACA and making fixes to it. Dabakis points out that Hatch’s main source of campaign finance comes from pharmaceutical companies. He denounces the bill as “a catastrophe” and “death to Utahns.”
So, call or email our representatives (go to utah.gov for addresses) and tell them to vote “no” on this revision that undoes much good and progress! Health care should be for everyone, and moving toward that goal should not be destroyed by a political party agenda or spite!
