Senate Democrats Fan Out Across The Country To Speak With Constituents, Discuss Bipartisan Ways To Improve Health Care System, & Expose Senate GOP’s Trumpcare Bill For What It Really Is: A Shameful Tax Cut For The Wealthy That Would Force Middle-Class Americans To Pay More For Less
Times Leader (PA): Casey blasts GOP health plan, effect on opioid crisis Roanoke Times (VA): Special education families, school leaders concerned about future of Medicaid reimbursements NHPR (NH): Newport-Based Health Providers Air Concerns With Health Reform
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BALDWIN WISC-TV: Baldwin focuses on fighting Republican health care plan “The idea is that we need to work together across party lines, fix the Affordable Care Act where it needs fixing and strengthen our system, and if there are other ideas that need to be on the table, then I’m all for that,” Baldwin said. [WISC-TV Channell 3000.Com, 7/6/17] WMTV NBC 15: Sen. Tammy Baldwin tours WI talking transportation and health care “Sen. Tammy Baldwin made several stops in southeast Wisconsin Thursday talking about the future of the Affordable Care Act and federal transportation funding aid.” [WMTV, 7/6/17] WBAY ABC 2: Sen. Baldwin and Speaker Ryan disagree on health care “Senator Tammy Baldwin says it's because of people in Wisconsin and around the country voicing their concerns that the breaks have been put on the GOP health care proposal.” [WBAY ABC 2, 7/9/17] WGLR: Baldwin To Talk Healthcare Thursday In Dodgeville “Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin will be making some stops in southern Wisconsin Thursday. Baldwin is scheduled to be at the Iowa County Health and Human Services office in Dodgeville about 3:15 p.m. She’ll hold a roundtable discussion on rural health care with representatives from local agencies, including the Southwestern Community Action Program and Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative. Baldwin’s office says she’ll also talk about how potential federal health care repeal legislation could impact rural health providers and rural Wisconsin communities.” [WGLR, 7/5/17] BENNET CBS Denver 4: ‘This Is A Terrible Bill’: Sen. Bennet Attends Health Care Rally “More than 100 people gathered on the steps of the state Capitol on Sunday, hoping to send a message to congress regarding health care legislation. Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat representing Colorado, was one of the speakers.” [CBS Denver 4, 7/9/17] KDVR: Sen. Bennet speaks at rally against proposed federal health care bill “Democratic U.S. Senator Michael Bennet spoke at a rally against the proposed federal health care bill on Sunday. Various groups gathered outside the Colorado State Capitol at 2 p.m. ‘The last proposal we saw from the Senate would result in twenty-two million Americans losing coverage. That is unacceptable. We will rally to tell them to go back to Washington to do the right thing and protect health care for Coloradans,’ organizers said.” [KDVR, 7/9/17] BLUMENTHAL News-Times: Blumenthal brings health-care fight to Danbury “Blumenthal visited the Greater Danbury Community Health Center on Main Street to hear from doctors and patients about the Affordable Care Act, which his Republican peers seek to repeal and replace. ‘We’re at a critical time for health care,’ Blumenthal said. ‘This Republican plan will decimate health care. It is a flawed and grotesque proposal.’” [News-Times, 6/30/17] WTNH: Blumenthal to host emergency healthcare meeting “Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal will hold a third emergency hearing to address Republican efforts to replace the Affordable Care Law Friday morning. Democrats in both the Senate and House have been strongly against Republican efforts to make changes to the healthcare law.” [WTNH, 6/30/17] Hartford Courant: At Hearing, Blumenthal continues Campaign Against GOP Health Care Law “As Senate Republican leaders worked in Washington to convince their reluctant colleagues to vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Sen. Richard Blumenthal returned to Connecticut Friday to continue rallying opposition. At the Hartford Public Library, Blumenthal listened to more than 90 minutes of comments from those who said they would be harmed by the Republican health care bill, which includes deep cuts to Medicaid and rolls back other key provisions of Obamacare.” [Hartford Courant, 6/30/17] Norwich Bulletin: Many veterans would suffer under Republican health-care plan “Added Blumenthal: ‘Every Member of Congress who plans to support this bill needs to imagine looking a veteran in the eye and telling them why their mental-health care for PTS (post-traumatic stress) has been halted, or why they can no longer afford treatment for traumatic brain injury sustained while serving their country.’” [Norwich Bulletin, 6/30/17] BOOKER “Treatment for thousands of New Jersey residents addicted to painkillers and heroin would be eliminated and health coverage cut for hundreds of thousands more under the Senate Republicans' proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act, the state's Democratic senators and a pair of congressmen warned Thursday. ‘We're on a precipice,’ said U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, noting his strenuous opposition to the bill, which is expected to come before the Senate later this month. He spoke at a press conference in Englewood. The Republican plan to defund the expansion of Medicaid ‘would be especially devastating to families dealing with the scourge of addiction,’ U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez said.” [Bergen County Record, 7/6/17] WZVN: Cory Booker on 2020: ‘I don’t know what the future’s going to bring’ “The Democratic senator has come increasingly into the national spotlight under Donald Trump's presidency. Just last week, he and Democratic Georgia Rep. John Lewis staged a sit-in on the Capitol steps to discuss the Senate health care bill. The action, livestreamed on Booker's Facebook page, added further fodder to conjectures about his role as an emerging leader in the Democratic party.” [WZVN, 7/4/17] One News Now: Debate rages: Healthcare a right, or not? "’Healthcare is a human right,’ Booker posted on a Facebook page ahead of the event. ‘We must fight harder for the American people who will suffer, who will get sicker, who will lose loved ones, if the Senate Republican plan goes through, because right now the fate of millions of Americans and future generations are at stake in this fight – a fight Americans cannot afford to lose.’" [One News Now, 7/4/17] New Brunswick Today: Written in secret, Trumpcare Promises Trauma for New Jersey “US Senator Cory Booker visited New Brunswick on June 19 where he strongly opposed the AHCA. ‘We need to stand up and fight for the nearly half million New Jerseyans in jeopardy of losing their health insurance as a result of these cruel and callous policies,’ Booker said at the Children's Specialized Hospital. In response to the lack of transparency surrounding Trumpcare's formulation, Booker has cosponsored the ‘No Hearing, No Vote Act,’ which aims to prevent the AHCA from being brought to a vote as a reconciliation bill.” [New Brunswick Today, 7/2/17] “Booker, likewise, said the tax cuts would benefit ‘a very small slice of millionaires and billionaires’ while 500,000 people in the state would lose health coverage. ‘It’s not a hard decision, and frankly it’s a moral imperative, to side with half-a-million New Jerseyans at risk of losing their health care coverage over a handful of folks who need tax cuts the least,’ Booker said.” [Bergen County Record, 7/1/17] Philadelphia Inquirer: Inside Cory Booker’s social media strategy “It was only one element of Democrats’ push against the Republican health plan. There were also speeches, press conferences, and parliamentary delays. And in the end the biggest hurdle for the GOP has been internal divisions, not Democrats. But Booker and his allies hope to keep the pressure on. Two days after his Facebook event, he went the traditional route, speaking at a Capitol Hill rally. As he left, he was swarmed by young people — they all wanted a selfie.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 6/30/17] BROWN Dayton Daily News: Fix Obamacare, don’t destroy it, Sen. Sherrod Brown says “Although Senate Republicans have not enlisted Democratic support to revise Obamacare, Democrats have expressed willingness to offer ideas aimed at stabilizing the marketplaces set up by the law — which permit middle-income Americans to buy federally subsidized individual insurance plans. ‘None of the Democrats are willing to do a huge tax cut,’ for wealthier people said Brown, D-Ohio. ‘That is off the table.’ But Brown, who visited Dayton’s Children’s Hospital Thursday morning, said, ‘Let’s go back and fix’ Obamacare ‘to bring more healthy people’ into the markets known as exchanges, which would help reduce the rapid growth rate of premiums for individual plans.” [Dayton Daily News, 7/7/17] WRGT: Senator Brown talks against repealing the Affordable Care Act “U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) talked today against repealing the Affordable Care Act and the affect it would have on working Ohio families and their children. Sen. Brown spoke Thursday at Dayton Children's Hospital alongside Debbie Feldman, CEO of the hospital, and Dr. Jonathan Thackeray, Chief Medical Community Health Officer of Dayton Children's Hospital. ‘Not everyone may realize that a huge portion of the people Medicaid helps are Ohioans who are working, who pay taxes, but who have a child with a disability or with serious special needs,’ Brown said. ‘These are children just like any other, who are loved by their families, and who just happened to be dealt a tougher hand in life.’” [WRGT, 7/6/17] Columbus Dispatch: Sherrod Brown says he, Rob Portman, 2 others could fix Obamacare “As the top Senate Republican acknowledged he may have to scale back an ambitious Obamacare replacement, Sen. Sherrod Brown said Democrats would help craft a bipartisan plan to stabilize the 2010 law if Republicans abandon efforts to use the bill to cut taxes for the wealthy. In a telephone interview before an appearance Thursday in Dayton, the Ohio Democrat acknowledged that ‘there are things to fix’ in Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act, such as stabilizing the marketplaces established by the law where middle-income Americans buy federally subsidized individual insurance plans… But Brown warned that ‘none of the Democrats are willing to do a huge tax cut,’ for wealthier people, saying emphatically ‘that is off the table.’” [Columbus Dispatch, 7/6/17] WKBN: Sen. Brown, Schiavoni agree with Gov. Kasich’s veto of Medicaid rollback “U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Ohio Sen. Joe Schiavoni applauded Governor John Kasich’s move Friday to veto provisions in the state budget that would roll back the expansion of Medicaid. According to a press release sent by Brown’s office, Brown said uncertainty in Washington over Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act is hurting states like Ohio. Brown released the following statement after Kasich’s move: I’m proud of our governor for standing up for Ohio families and doing what’s needed to combat the opioid crisis. Washington leaders need to follow Gov. Kasich’s lead and put party politics aside to do what’s right for the people we serve. Instead of one side writing secret bills to kick people off their healthcare, let’s all work together to bring down prices and make healthcare work better for everyone.’” [WKBN, 7/2/17] Columbus Dispatch: Health care: A bipartisan solution? Hope springs eternal, but skeptics abound “Brown said he, too, is for bipartisanship. But he couldn’t have disagreed more with the bill that is now stalled in the Senate. ‘It’s a huge tax cut for the drug companies and the insurance companies — and for the richest 400 families, they will get a $7 million tax cut for each of the next 10 years,’ Brown said. ‘And to pay for that tax cut and make up for the lost money, they cut Medicaid. They cut opioid treatment.’” [Columbus Dispatch, 7/2/17] The Blade: Portman still uneasy on Senate health bill “For U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, the new money does little to fix a bill he has said would ‘rip the rug out from under Ohio communities.’ ‘Simply throwing money at the problem won’t mean a thing if Ohio doesn’t have a Medicaid program to get people covered,’ Mr. Brown said Thursday. ‘You simply don’t treat an epidemic with a federal grant. Governor [John] Kasich said it best when he said ‘it’s like spitting in the ocean.’’” [The Blade, 6/30/17] CANTWELL KING: Cantwell holds health care town hall “While Republican senators returned home this week to tough questions about their health care repeal and replace, Democratic senators are continuing their push to highlight their concerns about the GOP bill. Its fate remains unclear since senators left D.C. last week without a vote. ‘I'm begging my colleagues to come debate me,’ said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., of the Republicans’ plan. During her first town hall in years, she didn’t debate, but rather answered an hour and half worth of questions from a friendly but worried audience.” [KING, 7/5/17] KCPQ: Town halls are rough? Not for Democrat Cantwell at health care town hall in Seattle “Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., held a town hall on health care Wednesday night attended by hundreds. It was the first town hall the senator has hosted this year, but she promised it won’t be her last. Cantwell is up for re-election in 2018. Some Republican members of Congress have faced yelling and catcalls from the public at town halls this year, but Cantwell’s was very mild.” [KCPQ, 7/5/17] Seattle Times: Health-care worries loom large as Sen. Maria Cantwell holds town hall “After her daughter was born prematurely and weighed less than 2 pounds, Keisha Teel said she and her husband would have been buried under hospital debt had the Affordable Care Act not covered some costs of treating her daughter Mackenzie’s health complications. At a town-hall meeting in White Center on Saturday, an emotional Teel urged U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell to preserve the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the face of Republican plans to repeal the law also known as Obamacare. Teel was one of several to raise health-care issues in the wide-ranging, two-hour community gathering with Cantwell.” [Seattle Times, 7/8/17] CARPER WMDT: Senator Carper visits new Milford hospital and raises concerns over healthcare bill “With the American Health Care Act, it appears legislators have few updates on the vote, postponed because of lack of support. It's not clear when law makers will get back to it. In Milford, Delaware, 47 ABC caught up with U.S. Senator Tom Carper, as he toured the site for a new hospital called Bayhealth Hospital Sussex Campus. But Senator Carper made it clear. His agenda Wednesday was more than just exploring these grounds. He walked reporters through Washington's struggle to agree on a new health care bill. Carper's main message concerns over Medicaid. The GOP health care bill proposes cuts, which could slash Delaware's Medicaid funding by $2 billion over ten years. ‘The other thing about these deep cuts is it also puts at risk, folks especially the ages between 50-64, older people, lower income people. Their cost of their insurance is going to rise dramatically and not many people focus on that and that's a real factor,’ Carper tells 47 ABC.” [WMDT, 7/5/17] Delaware Public Media: Sen. Carper worries Medicaid cuts would hurt autism programs “Sen. Tom Carper visited an autism services center in Lewes Friday to discuss how a Senate Republican healthcare plan would impact that organization’s programs. Carper said the GOP’s proposed cuts to Medicaid could end some of the programs at Autism Delaware that train adults with autism to enter the workforce. ‘These programs give adults with autism the skills to earn jobs and create a little bit of of a savings and be a contributing citizen to our society,’ he said. It’s estimated the Republican-backed Better Care Reconciliation Act would cut Medicaid funding in Delaware by at least $2 billion over 10 years. Carper said children and people living in nursing homes would also be hit hard by the GOP plan to repeal Obamacare.” [Delaware Public Media, 6/30/17] CASEY Daily Review: Casey involves Towanda seniors in health care bill conversation “U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) made an appearance in Towanda on Thursday to discuss concerns regarding the proposed Senate health care bill with senior citizens. Casey expanded on his disdain for the bill, one he has previously addressed as a ‘health care scheme’ and heavily emphasized a call to dispose of it altogether and pursue bipartisan troubleshooting. As Pennsylvania's ‘senior Senator’ and the highest ranking Democrat on the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, Casey hit the ground running at the Towanda Senior Center visit, relating to attendees through thanks. As well as thanking veterans and armed forces families, he opened, ‘You built the middle class. You're the ones that had to not just serve, and your families served, but to work in our factories, you taught our children, you gave all of us the kind of life and love that we sometimes take for granted in a great state like ours.’” [Daily Review, 7/7/17] WBRE: Parents Speak Out About Medicaid Funding Concerns “Families in Sullivan County got a chance today to learn more about the healthcare debate going on in Washington D.C. Parents with special needs children told Senator Bob Casey exactly what Medicaid funding means in their school district. Eyewitness News reporter Eric Deabill has the details. Six year old Benjamin Swift has Down Syndrome. The Forksville boy is excited to be entering the first grade this fall. With the healthcare battle raging in Washington, his parents are concerned if there will be continued funding for a nurse that helps him at the Sullivan County Elementary School. ‘She is with him from the moment he gets out of my van to when they send him home at the end of the day’ Said Melissa Swift, Benjamin's Mom. According to Senator Bob Casey's office, the Sullivan County school district and the BLAST Intermediate Unit could lose nearly 350-thousand dollars in the proposed GOP Healthcare plan.” [WBRE, 7/5/17] Billy Penn: what happens to opioid treatment in Philly under Senate GOP health care plan “U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, has been particularly outspoken, sending out more than a dozen tweets picking apart the bill. Casey said in a statement the Senate GOP’s plan ‘takes away coverage for substance abuse treatment’ and would ‘cripple our efforts to battle opioid addiction in our country.’ Casey teamed up with West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin to release a report of sorts that examines how GOP healthcare plans would impact the opioid crisis in Pennsylvania. It’s worth noting: The not-at-all-nonpartisan report was released before the Senate GOP’s healthcare bill was made public. In the report, Casey contends that ‘Pennsylvanians who gained opioid treatment coverage through Medicaid expansion could be left without care.’” [Billy Penn, 7/5/17] The Citizens’ Voice: Casey speaks out against the health care bill “Ross and other local officials supported Casey as he spoke at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Monday. Cuts to Medicaid included in the Senate health care bill could prove ‘devastating’ to programs that help address the local and national opioid addiction crisis, Casey said. ‘It’s a scourge that’s hit every part of our commonwealth and country,’ Casey said of the opioid crisis.” [Citizens’ Voice, 7/4/17] WNEP: Senator Casey Says Proposed Health Care Bill Could Worsen Opioid Epidemic “‘In the midst of trying to solve this problem, why would we ever cut the program that has the greatest impact on it over time? Medicaid and in particular, Medicaid expansion,’ Casey said. He told a crowd at the courthouse that the new health care bill has devastating cuts to Medicaid that would affect people seeking help for addiction. ‘None of us believe that the opioid problem is going to be eliminated in the next couple of years, so just when we're going to need it the most, that's when a lot of the cuts hit,’ Casey said.” [WNEP, 7/3/17] Times Leader: Casey blasts GOP health plan, effect on opioid crisis “‘There has been a lot of chatter going on about (Republicans) wanting to work with us,’ Casey said. ‘The point is we have to stop this bill and then we can start discussions.’ Casey said it’s hard to get a read on whether the bill will pass. He said there has been a lot of pressure being exerted on senators to get them to vote for it. ‘This bill should be defeated for a lot of reasons,’ Casey said. ‘And let me tell you, we have a long way to go. They not only want to cut Medicaid expansion, but they also want to put a cap on it. And what is particularly insulting — in fact it’s obscene — is that they want to use the savings from cutting Medicaid and give a massive tax cut to the wealthy.’” [Times Leader, 7/3/17] WBRE: Rally in Wilkes-Barre over Republican healthcare bill “The folks here are concerned the legislation would eliminate funding for all types of treatment programs. The biggest concerns? The opiod crisis. Based on the current pace, 142 people are expected to die from overdoses in Luzerne County this year. ‘If you do the math, that breaks down to one person every two and a half days,’ says Steve Ross, Director of the Luzerne-Wyoming County Drug-Alcohol Agency. ‘We are making progress because of Medicaid expansion,’ says Senator Bob Casey. Casey is one of the Democrats leading the charge against both versions of the Republican replacement for Obamacare. ‘We cannot afford this Senate bill to pass,’ says Casey. ‘It will cut that Medicaid, city those services to people who are benefiting right now from the kinds of services, those kinds of treatment.’” [WBRE, 7/3/17] WBRE: Local Hospital Workers Raise Concerns Over Senate GOP Health Care Bill “‘If someone has Medicaid today and needs it for their healthcare, they should get it for as long as they need it,’ said Casey. U.S. Senator Bob Casey stopped by Wayne Memorial Hospital to meet with employees and discuss their concerns with the proposed senate health care bill. It's estimated that the republican-sponsored Better Care Reconciliation Act would reduce federal deficits by 321-billion-dollars over the next 10 years. The majority of those savings comes from reductions in Medicaid. Critics of the measure claim 22 million people would lose health care coverage by 2027, 15-million of them being cut from Medicaid. ‘It'll hurt rural hospitals like Wayne Memorial,’ said Casey. ‘The impact is not favorable. We sure hope the bill does not go through in its current form. It would be very damaging to this hospital and the community we serve,’ said David Hoff, hospital CEO. ‘Just in Wayne County alone, there are almost 10-thousand people dependent on Medicaid,’ said Casey.” [WBRE, 7/1/17] COONS WMDT: Senator Coons hosts online townhall “Delaware Senator Chris Coons said Thursday evening during his facebook live healthcare town hall that he has received calls from over 3,500 Delawareans on the battle over health insurance. This following the announced departure of Aetna which left Highmark as the lone insurer in the marketplace. Just last month Highmark asked for a 33.6 percent rate increase for 2018, causing residents to ask how high can their premiums get.' ‘When I recently spoke with Highmark's leaders, they shared with me that about half of that increase in cost proposed for this year is because of the unpredictability of the market,’ said Coons.” [WMDT, 7/6/17] CORTEZ MASTO “With a blue-sheeted hospital bed in the background, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto took her place Friday morning in the heart of Las Vegas’ University Medical Center to denounce a health care bill her Republican colleagues hope to push through the Senate when they return from a recess. … ‘What I’m seeing is a tragedy,’ said Cortez Masto, who later said she would be supportive of some sort of public health insurance option down the road. ‘Let’s be clear. Both the House version and the Senate version are not health care bills. They’re masquerading as health care bills. They’re tax cuts for the wealthy on the backs of people who have health care for the first time, who we should be fighting for.’” [Nevada Independent, 7/8/17] Las Vegas Review Journal: Cortez Masto talks health care at UMC in Las Vegas “U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto spoke at a news conference Friday at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas to highlight a new report by the Nevada Institute for Children’s Research & Policy. The report, titled ‘Nevadans Will Lose Big Under Health Bills In Congress,’ contends that the elimination of Medicaid expansion — key to the Republican Senate version of health care legislation designed to replace the Affordable Care Act — may cost more than 200,000 Nevadans to lose health insurance coverage.” [Las Vegas Review Journal, 7/7/17] Las Vegas Sun: Cortez Masto highlights dangers of Obamacare repeal “Opponents of Obamacare repeal and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., spoke out today against a GOP-backed Senate health care bill. An estimated 328,000 Nevada residents would lose coverage under a GOP bill, according to a report released today by advocacy group Nevadans Together for Medicaid and compiled by the nonprofit research group Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy. The institute is within the UNLV School of Community Health Sciences.” [Las Vegas Sun, 7/7/17] Nevada Independent: Dispatches from Washington: Nevada’s delegates focus on health care “Not surprisingly, the state’s Democratic representatives — Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Congress members Ruben Kihuen, Jacky Rosen and Dina Titus — slammed the legislation in their continued campaign against any repeal of the Affordable Care Act.” [Nevada Independent, 7/4/17] DONNELLY Louisville Courier-Journal: Sen. Joe Donnelly: GOP health care plan just a 'wealth-transfer bill' “U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly reaffirmed his position against the GOP health care reform bill on Friday, calling the legislation a ‘wealth-transfer bill’ that would take coverage away from 300,000 Hoosiers and cut taxes for the rich. Donnelly, an Indiana Democrat, made his comments after touring LifeSpring, a health center in Jeffersonville that provides mental and primary care services as well as a residential treatment program for addicts. ‘I don't actually think it's a health bill. It's a wealth transfer bill is what it is,’ he said at the facility. ‘It takes away over $700 billion in funds that are used for actual payments to facilities like this for the health care for individuals you see in the waiting room.’” [Louisville Courier-Journal, 7/7/17] WTHR: Donnelly says GOP Health-Care Plan is actually tax cut bill “‘I am not going to standby and see a Hoosier lose coverage,’ Donnelly said. ‘That does not need to be. The health care bill that we have seen put forward is not a health care bill, it's a tax cut bill. It's a wealth transfer bill.’” [WTHR, 7/5/17] WDRB: Indiana senators field questions about Affordable Care Act over holiday weekend “Indiana Senators Todd Young and Joe Donnelly say they are getting tons of questions from their constituents. Senate leaders are still working on a compromise to find enough Republican votes to repeal and replace the Affordable Healthcare Act. ‘I haven't gotten into the habit of drawing red lines,’ Young said. ‘I think that's imprudent, especially when you're negotiating with so many other senators who have deep convictions and concerns.’ ‘We've already been to the table,’ Donnelly said. ‘I've been to meetings already. I won't be part of a program that takes health care away from Hoosiers.’” [WDRB, 7/5/17] “Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly says there’s room to reform the federal health care law, if majority Republicans will come to the bargaining table. Donnelly sat down last month with a half-dozen centrist senators from both parties in search of common ground on health care, and says they at least ‘moved the ball’ toward compromise. But he says the next day, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made clear his intention to try to pass a repeal-and-replace bill with Republican votes.” [Indiana Public Radio, 7/4/17] WXIN: Sen. Todd young ‘undecided’ as health care bill takes center stages this Fourth of July break “As Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) prepared to march in the Carmel Fest parade Tuesday morning, he underscored the message he’d been hearing. ‘All along the parade route, everybody is saying please save our health care,’ Donnelly said referring to a parade he marched in Monday.” [WXIN, 7/4/17] Times of Northwest Indiana: In NWI, U.S. senator talks health care, vets, opioids “Indiana's senior United States senator talked health care, veterans issues and opioids before marching in Monday's Fourth of July Twilight Parade. U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and the rest of Congress are on recess for the Independence Day holiday. But the Senate has important work ahead of it next week, as it could vote on the bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, as soon as then. Donnelly and his fellow Democrats are all expected to vote against the bill in its current form because it is predicted to cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance.” [Times of Northwest Indiana, 7/3/17] Eagle Tribune: Senate health plan on tightrope “Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., criticized Republicans for coming up with the draft bill after weeks of secret discussions involving only a few GOP senators and then planning to rush it through the Senate without a single public hearing on the details. ‘The stakes are incredibly high,’ Donnelly said. ‘This is about the health, well-being and economic security of families, children and adults with disabilities and older Hoosiers.’” [Eagle Tribune, 7/2/17] Chicago Tribune: Indiana Dems defend ACA in health care debate “Donnelly, however, in a statement called for Republicans and Democrats to work together in reforming the health care system and help improve access and affordability for Hoosiers. ‘It is clear that this current bill would not improve our health care system, but rather would result in people paying more and taking care away from millions of Americans,’ Donnelly said.” [Chicago Tribune, 7/1/17] Greensburg Daily News: Donnelly hoping for bipartisan effort on health care reform “Sen. Joe Donnelly said with the stalled vote in the U.S. Senate on a proposed health care bill he is reaching across the aisle to work on a bipartisan effort. Donnelly, D-Ind., took part in a telephone town hall hosted by AARP Indiana that attracted 14,000 people on Wednesday. ‘For all of the discussion about delays, politics, the process, vote counts, budget scores and analysis, it’s critical we remember this health care debate is first and foremost about people,’ Donnelly said. ‘We all agree everyone needs access to quality, affordable health care … this is such an important debate. It is inherently personal -- it’s about the health, the well-being, and it’s even about the life or death of our loved ones.’” [Greensburg Daily News, 6/30/17] WIBC: Donnelly: Bipartisan Health Care Reform Possible, But Senate GOP’s Bill Was A Nonstarter “Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly says there's room to reform the federal health care law, if majority Republicans will come to the bargaining table. Donnelly sat down last month with a half-dozen centrist senators from both parties in search of common ground on health care, and says they at least ‘moved the ball’ toward compromise. But he says the next day, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made clear his intention to try to pass a repeal-and-replace bill with Republican votes.” [WIBC, 6/30/17] DURBIN Belleville News-Democrat: Durbin Says ACA Repeal Would ‘Cripple’ Illinois During Granite City Stop “During a visit to a Granite City hospital on Friday, Senator Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, said if it passed, the Senate Republican health care repeal bill would have devastating results for the metro-east and for all of Illinois.” [Belleville News-Democrat, 7/7/17] Journal Gazette & Times-Courier: Durbin touts ACA, gets local input “U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin touted the benefits of the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, calling attempts to replace the plan shortsighted for citizens and risky to health care providers. The Illinois Democrat met with officials at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center to discuss the current federal law and efforts to repeal and replace it since the change in presidential administrations earlier this year.” [Journal Gazette & Times-Courier, 7/6/17] WJBD: Durbin Visits Washington County Hospital “U.S. Senator Dick Durbin was in Nashville Friday morning to discuss the efforts to reform health insurance law in the United States. Durbin says he is opposed to the bills that Republicans in the House and Senate have written. Durbin says too many people would lose health insurance with either of those plans. However, the Senator said he does not believe the current system is perfect. ‘People say to me, 'Okay, Durbin, you're a Democrat and you voted for Obamacare and you're in favor of it and it needs to be fixed.' I agree,’ Durbin said.” [WJBD Radio 100.1, 7/8/17] WAND: Lawmaker pushes back in health care battle “A senator from Illinois issued some criticism for a Republican health care plan. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) says the American Health Care Act would be ‘a disaster’ for the state if it replaced the current Affordable Care Act, citing the 22 million Americans who would lose coverage. He says the country’s Medicaid program would take a big hit, pointing to a family he met in Champaign.” [WAND TV NBC 17, 7/6/17] “‘Big pharma,’ Medicare, Medicaid and the state’s opioid epidemic dominated a discussion led by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, Friday afternoon at Jersey Community Hospital (JCH) among health care officials, regarding the pending U.S. Senate repeal bill debate commencing Monday. … ‘Big pharma,’ Medicare, Medicaid and the state’s opioid epidemic dominated a discussion led by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, Friday afternoon at Jersey Community Hospital (JCH) among health care officials, regarding the pending U.S. Senate repeal bill debate commencing Monday.” [Jacksonville Journal Courier, 7/8/17] FEINSTIN San Francisco Chronicle: Feinstein revs up the opposition to GOP Senate health care plan “Republican efforts to replace President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act would devastate children’s hospitals across California and make it harder for millions of people — young and old — to get the care they need, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in San Francisco Friday. The GOP plan before the Senate ‘provides tax cuts for the very wealthy’ at the expense of health care for children, Feinstein told an audience of about 100 doctors, nurses, health care professionals and parents of patients at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco. ‘I don’t know who would want that type of a tax cut.’” [San Francisco Chronicle, 7/7/17] Sacramento Bee: Dianne Feinstein says Republican health care bill is ‘immoral’ “Sen. Dianne Feinstein is in San Francisco today, where she’s holding a press conference to deliver a message on her home turf about her staunch opposition to Senate Republicans’ health care bill. ‘At its most basic, the Republican health care bill guts Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the richest five percent of Americans,’ Feinstein said in a statement. ‘This is an immoral policy. The wealthiest country in the history of the world has an obligation to take care of its most vulnerable citizens.’” [Sacramento Bee, 7/7/17] “Sen. Dianne Feinstein issued a stinging rebuke Friday to the push by congressional Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare, condemning her GOP colleagues for advancing a health care bill she said was written in private ‘by 13 white men.’ ‘Understand that this is real, that it’s happening now, and that we must stop it,’ Feinstein said at a news conference at the University of California, San Francisco, Benioff Children’s Hospital. ‘It must be defeated.’ The proposal would strip 22 million Americans of health coverage by 2026, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.” [Sacramento Bee, 7/7/17] “Three of the Golden State’s top Democrats denounced a Republican Senate-promoted health care bill making the rounds in the nation’s capital during a conference call with media members on the morning of June 27. Governor Jerry Brown and U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris spoke out against the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, which supporting politicians have geared towards using to overhaul the nation’s health care system and rollback the Affordable Care Act (ACA), former President Barack Obama’s signature legislation. Feinstein called the Republican legislation the most indefensible bill she had seen in her 24 years in the Senate. The senator recited the number of Americans that would lose health insurance if the act became law according to a June 26 report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Of?ce (CBO).” [Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley, 7/4/17] FRANKEN Grand Folks Herald: Franken: Health-care debate affects us all “As I've traveled across Minnesota in recent months, Minnesotans have made it clear to me just how important health care is to them, their families, and their communities. They want to know that when they are sick or injured they can get the care they need. Because health care is so important, most people in Minnesota understand what's at stake as they've watched congressional Republicans continue push to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and replace it with a plan that will rip health coverage from 23 million people, raise health costs, gut Medicaid, and eliminate nationwide protections for people with pre-existing conditions.” [Grand Forks Herald, 6/30/17] WDAY: MN Sen. Al Franken calls proposed healthcare bill cruel “Senator Franken encourages people to contact their senators asking them not to vote for this bill. ‘You've got to let your senators know, Obviously Senator Klobuchar and I are against this bill, and so is Senator Heitkamp. I would suggest that Senator Hoeven might want to hear what the people of North Dakota think about this bill,’ said Senator Al Franken.” [WDAY, 6/29/17] HARRIS KABC: Sen. Kamala Harris on GOP health care bill: 'Don't take our stuff' “While Congress is in recess, the debate over health care is only heating up. ‘What I say is don't take our stuff. Leave my stuff alone,’ Sen. Kamala Harris said at a rally at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance Monday. The senator spoke to hundreds of activists concerned about losing health coverage if the Republican health care bill is passed. ‘It's not like we left our health care on the bus or at the club or in an Uber. This is not about losing something. They're trying to take our health care,’ Harris said.” [KABC, 7/4/17] KQED: Kamala Harris Speaks Out Against Republican Health Care Plan “California Sen. Kamala Harris toured the state Monday, rallying supporters against the Republican-backed health care plan in the Senate as she searched for stories to highlight when debate over the bill returns to Congress next week. After speaking at a citizenship ceremony in Los Angeles, Harris held a rally at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance to oppose the Better Care Reconciliation Act currently in Senate. She then flew to San Francisco to meet with seniors at the Institute on Aging. Harris said she heard stories all day ‘from people who want to live with dignity, who want to work hard, but they want to afford to be able to pay for their asthma medication and also keep their home.’” [KQED, 7/3/17] Los Angeles Times: Sen. Kamala Harris greets supporters at healthcare protest in Torrance “A couple hundred people showed up to rally against the GOP healthcare plan at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center today, and California Sen. Kamala Harris showed up to greet them. The hospital's chief doctor told supporters that Obamacare ‘was a gamechanger’ for patients.” [Los Angeles Times, 7/3/17] “Harris, who came from a naturalization ceremony aboard the USS Iowa battleship in San Pedro, opened by questioning the terminology of ‘losing’ healthcare. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the GOP Senate bill will cause 22 million Americans to lose coverage in the next decade. ‘It’s not like we left our healthcare on the bus or at the club or in an Uber,’ Harris said to applause. ‘This is not about losing something; they’re trying to take our healthcare and so what I say is don’t take our stuff! Leave my stuff alone!’” [Daily Breeze, 7/3/17] San Francisco Chronicle: Obamacare could easily be fixed with a few bipartisan remedies “Feinstein and her California Senate colleague, Kamala Harris, proposed legislation last month to eliminate the income cliff for middle-class workers by limiting the cost of health insurance premiums to 9.69 percent of a person’s income. The monthly premium for someone making $50,000 would be no more than $404 per month under the formula, a savings of $542 per month, they said. A person earning $80,000 would pay no more than $646 per month, saving $300. ‘Right now, many middle-class families are still struggling to afford insurance, and that’s not acceptable,’ Harris said. ‘Let’s fix that.’” [San Francisco Chronicle, 7/1/17] “Last month, President Trump and Congressional Republicans gathered in the White House Rose Garden to celebrate the House of Representatives narrowly approving a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Celebrating front and center were a number of Republican representatives from California. Back in Ferndale, California, Ellen Briggs wasn’t celebrating. Ellen cares for her 92-year-old mother, despite suffering from cancer and diabetes herself. For years, she had to travel hundreds of miles and pay increasing insurance rates because she couldn’t get coverage closer to home. ‘When the rate rose to $1,000/month, I had no choice but to let the insurance go,’ she wrote me. ‘Luckily, ACA funding of Medi-Cal’s expansion kicked in just in time to cover my cancer surgery and subsequent care.’” [Roseville & Granite Bay Press Tribune, 6/30/17] HASSAN Concord Monitor: Hassan, Kuster hear impacts of health care bill “U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan and Rep. Annie Kuster toured Riverbend Community Mental Health in Concord on Thursday afternoon as part of an effort to understand how the Senate Republicans’ health care legislation will impact mental health and substance abuse resources and treatment in New Hampshire.” [Concord Monitor, 7/7/17] WBUR: N.H. Sen. Hassan: Republican Senate Health Care Bill Must Not Become Law “With the Republican Senate bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act stalled, members of Congress have been hearing from their constituents during their 4th of July recess. That includes Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, who spent part of Wednesday at a rural health clinic in her state, where the message was: The current health care system is ‘burdensome’ and frustrating, but the Republican plan would make it worse. WBUR’s Anthony Brooks reports.” [WBUR, 7/6/17] NHPR: Newport-Based Health Providers Air Concerns With Health Reform “Staff at the Newport Health Center shared their concerns about the Senate healthcare bill with New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan Wednesday. The center provides people in the Newport area with basic healthcare, including primary and pre-natal care, x-rays and lab services. After a quick tour, Sen. Hassan sat down with administrators and staffers to discuss the current healthcare debate. No one voiced support for the Republican plan, but many criticized the current system.” [NHPR, 7/5/17] Boston Globe: Senate Republicans consider leaving tax on rich in health bill “Senator Maggie Hassan, a Democrat who is from another state, New Hampshire, hit by the opioid crisis, said the additional money was ‘a drop in the bucket that would not come close to making up for the damage’ that could be done by the bill’s cuts in Medicaid. The CBO said that over 10 years, McConnell’s bill would cut more than $770 billion from projected spending under Medicaid, a program that pays for a large share of substance abuse treatment and prevention costs in many states.” [Boston Globe, 6/29/17] HEINRICH KOAT: Sen. Heinrich: No state has more to lose from GOP healthcare bill than NM [VIDEO] [KOAT, 7/6/17] HEITKAMP Bismarck Tribune: Heitkamp Speaks Against Republican Health Care Bill “Heitkamp railed against Republican health care legislation that she said presents an ‘immoral choice’ by giving tax breaks to the wealthy while leaving millions more uninsured. ‘This is about the future and the morality of our country,’ she said at a rally organized by the North Dakota AFL-CIO and the local Indivisible group.” [Bismarck Tribune, 7/6/17] KFYR-TV: Health Bill's impact on rural hospitals “Under the Republican Senate health care bill, Medicaid would be cut my more than $770 billion over the next ten years, compared to projections under current law. That could disproportionately affect rural hospitals that rely on patients access to Medicaid to get paid. … Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., visited the newly renovated Sakakwea Medical Center, which shares a building with Coal Country. Medical officials there say cuts to Medicaid would inhibit providers from providing as many services as they'd like.” [KFYR-TV, 7/7/17] Wahpeton Daily News: Senators Call For Solutions “That same day, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., responded to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Pointing to the budget office’s statement that the bill would take health care away from 22 million Americans by 2026, Heitkamp discussed how that would affect North Dakota residents. ‘According to (Congress’) Joint Economic Committee, in 2018, more than 31,000 North Dakotans would lose private health coverage, and those with coverage would see their premiums increase by an average of almost $800,’ she said. For Heitkamp, saving money at the expense of Medicaid isn’t improvement.” [Wahpeton Daily News, 6/30/17] KAINE “Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner both oppose the legislation, which was scheduled for a vote last week that ended up being postponed until after the Senate’s July 4 recess. The bill would have a disproportionate effect on children, who make up about 60 percent of Medicaid enrollment in Virginia, Kaine said in a conference call with reporters last week. During the 2014-15 school year, the most recent year for which data is available, Virginia school districts received $33 million in Medicaid reimbursements, according to data compiled by his office. A little more than $1.6 million of that went to school districts in the Roanoke and New River valleys. ‘When you take that much out of Medicaid, you hurt the most vulnerable people,’ Kaine said.” [Roanoke Times, 7/1/17] WDVM: Senate Healthcare Bill vote “With the delay of the vote this week came many frustrations from both sides of the aisle. According to Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, the effects of cutting back on Medicaid will affect an alarming amount of Virginians. ‘In Virginia, 60 percent of Medicaid recipients are children, about 20 percent are people with disabilities, 10 to 15 percent are parents [and] grandparents in nursing homes, and so, when you take that much out of Medicaid, you hurt the most vulnerable people,’ said Sen. Kaine.” [WDVM, 6/29/17] KLOBUCHAR Faribault Daily News: Mother always warned me: Be careful what you wish for “Turns out, Sen. Klobuchar and Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin were scheduled for a Friday press conference to discuss a bill they’re sponsoring that would harness the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs, especially for those on Medicare. My coffee date with the senator would come immediately after, making my plan to talk health insurance a perfect fit.” [Faribault Daily News, 7/3/17] MANCHIN GrayDC: West Virginia senators push for opioid funding in health care bill “In an emotional plea to Congress, Shelby is encouraging other Republican lawmakers to vote against the health care bill. Shelby already has the support of Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV). ‘We’re not making this political I’m not making this political I’m not chastising my Republican colleagues I am just asking them to get a soul. To get a heart and soul on this piece of legislation,’ Manchin said.” [GrayDC, 6/30/17] “Saying it would be ‘beyond catastrophic’ to make further cuts to Medicaid, Gov. Jim Justice wrote letters to U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, thanking them for opposing the Senate health care bill. Both Capito and Manchin announced earlier this week that she would not support the bill. Capito said Wednesday after studying the Senate health care bill, along with the Congressional Budget Office analysis, she determined the bill would not improve the lives of many West Virginians.” [Bluefield Daily Telegraph, 6/30/17] MCCASKILL WGEM: Sen. Claire McCaskill speaks in Northeast Missouri “Northeast Missouri residents packed the Monroe City Nutrition Center to hear from U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill Thursday. McCaskill took questions from residents on a number of topics. She stressed the importance of protecting and improving public education against using money towards charter schools. Some asked about the republican healthcare bill; McCaskill doesn't believe it will pass because it hurts too many rural residents by gutting Medicaid.” [WGEM NBC, 7/6/17] Hannibal Courier-Post: U.S. Senator hosts town hall in Monroe City, Paris “She told the crowd that health care reform is bogged down in secrecy in the Senate, and that efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act — known by some as Obamacare — were going nowhere. McCaskill said that while Republicans were accusing Democrats of blocking reform of the health care, Republican Senate leaders have not shared any of their legislative drafts with Democratic members of the body. Later in the meeting, she told the audience that ‘98 percent of the calls’ coming to her office about the version of health care reform passed by the U.S. House of Representatives are running against the legislation. ‘We haven’t seen a bill,’ she said.” [Hannibal Courier-Post, 7/6/17] Missourinet: Missouri GOP Congress Members Bypass Town Halls; Dem. McCaskill Dives in Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill held five Town Hall gatherings Wednesday across the state. They were all in mid-Missouri towns that are part of safe Republican congressional districts. 265 people packed into a McCaskill event in Ashland, where topics ranged from prescription drug monitoring to health care.” [Missourinet, 7/7/17] MENENDEZ “Treatment for thousands of New Jersey residents addicted to painkillers and heroin would be eliminated and health coverage cut for hundreds of thousands more under the Senate Republicans' proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act, the state's Democratic senators and a pair of congressmen warned Thursday. ‘We're on a precipice,’ said U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, noting his strenuous opposition to the bill, which is expected to come before the Senate later this month. He spoke at a press conference in Englewood. The Republican plan to defund the expansion of Medicaid ‘would be especially devastating to families dealing with the scourge of addiction,’ U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez said.” [Bergen County Record, 7/6/17] MERKLEY Statesman Journal: Merkley and Hunt: Oregon's children will lose with GOP health-care bill “We’ve been hearing a lot about winners and losers these days. Yet, even as our kids on the baseball or soccer fields may be winning trophies, they are in imminent danger of losing something much more important. Children in Oregon and across the country risk losing health care coverage through Medicaid, and all of the benefits that accompany it, due to the Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA).” [Statesman Journal, 6/30/17] MURPHY WTNH: Sen. Murphy encourages people to ‘Share Your Healthcare Story’ “As part of his fight against the Republican health care plan, Connecticut U.S. Senator Chris Murphy has launched what he calls a ‘Share Your Health Care Story’ campaign. Sen. Murphy says the idea is to illustrate the impact the Republican plan would have on Connecticut families. ‘Senate Republicans need to hear the real life stories about what this disaster of a bill would do to families. I’m collecting their stories to make sure their voices get heard,’ said Murphy.” [WTNH, 7/5/17] Weston Forum: Murphy: CBO score should be last straw for Republicans “U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released a statement after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget office (CBO) released an analysis of the Senate Republican’s health care repeal bill. The CBO found that the bill would leave 22 million more Americans uninsured by 2026 and cause premiums to skyrocket for middle-class Americans nearing retirement.” [Weston Forum, 7/3/17] MURRAY Everett Herald: Recovering addicts tell Murray about Medicaid’s crucial role “Murray said she wanted to hear from patients who were treated for opioid addiction as the Senate prepares to vote on a health care bill. Among other steps, it could slash funding for both Medicaid and opiate abuse treatment. As a Medicaid patient at the Community Health Center, Weaver was able to get treatment for her heroin addiction and has been prescribed Suboxone, which helps prevent withdrawal symptoms and stabilizes patients.” [Everett Herald, 7/7/17] Q13 Fox: I need this treatment: Recovering addicts tell Murray, DelBene importance of Medicaid. “If Medicaid is taken away, I don’t know if I can still get help. That’s the message Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Suzan DelBene heard from recovering opioid addicts Friday in Seattle.” [Q13 Fox, 7/7/17] NELSON Orlando Sentinel: Nelson says GOP health plan loses momentum “U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson on Wednesday brushed off a new GOP ad tying him to calls for single-payer health insurance, while also saying the Republican’s own health plan ‘has no momentum’ in the Senate. Nelson, in Orlando to meet with students to talk about his proposed Senate bill to cap student loan rates, also called for a diplomatic solution to the North Korean missile crisis and largely praised the decision to restart the National Space Council under Vice President Mike Pence.” [Orlando Sentinel, 7/5/17] WJCT: Florida Senator On Health Care: ‘The Votes Are Not There’ “A health care replacement plan is expected to be up for a vote in the U.S. Senate after the July 4 holiday. In Jacksonville Friday, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) had some strong words for Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans after the plan failed to go up for a vote last week. ‘I believe that Mitch McConnell is trying to break some more arms by delaying the vote,’ Nelson said. ‘The votes are not there.’” [WJCT, 7/3/17] Saint Peters Blog: Bill Nelson hosting health care roundtable in Tampa “Sen. Bill Nelson visits Tampa Monday for a roundtable discussion with those ‘hardest hit’ by the latest attempt from Senate Republicans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The Democratic senator will speak with residents on Medicaid as well as those with pre-existing medical conditions. Nelson is back in town during Congress’ weeklong July Fourth recess, after the Senate did not get the required 50 votes to repeal and replace ‘Obamacare’ by a late June deadline.” [Saint Peters Blog, 7/3/17] PETERS WSJM: Peters Willing To Work On Bipartisan Healthcare Bill “Talk about a new healthcare law should be resuming in the Senate after a vote was postponed before the holiday weekend. U.S. Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan, tells Michigan News Network the bill is flawed, but he’s willing to work on a plan to fix what doesn’t work.” [WSJM, 7/5/17] WBUP: Addressing the future of American health care “Senate Republicans are trying to figure out a way to get a health care bill passed before the week-long Fourth of July holiday. The bill that’s being considered does not have enough votes to pass in its current form. Democrats and even some Republicans have pledged ‘no’ votes on the measure that according to the Congressional Budget Office, would eliminate health insurance coverage for 22-million Americans. We asked Michigan Senator Gary Peters on what he believes is the best way to move any legislation going forward. ‘There are a lot of wonderful things that happened with the Affordable Care Act. People with pre-existing conditions get healthcare. But there are some areas of the Affordable Care Act that haven’t worked as well,’ said Sen. Peters. ‘There was language in the Affordable Care Act to help a small business provide health insurance not just for the owners, but also for the employees in that small business. Quite frankly it’s not working the way it should,’ Peters added.” [WBUP, 6/29/17] SANDERS WXIX: Bernie Sanders to host rally in Northern Kentucky “Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will be in Covington Sunday for his rally in support of the Affordable Care Act. The Democrat senator is visiting the Northern Kentucky Convention Center to lead an event called ‘Care Not Cuts.’ Sanders plans to call out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on his home turf of the Bluegrass State. Last week, McConnell, R-Ky., postponed a vote on the Republican health care bill because he lacked the votes.” [WXIX, 7/5/17] The Tennessean: Sen. Bernie Sanders: Lamar Alexander should 'end backroom deals' on health care “Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders called Friday on Sen. Lamar Alexander to ‘end backroom deals’ and ‘begin the national discussion’ on health care. In a letter to Alexander, the former Democratic presidential candidate said the GOP proposal to dismantle much of the Affordable Care Act is a ‘disaster’ and that it’s time for a serious discussion about the legislation instead of rushing it through Congress.” [Tennessean, 6/30/17] SHAHEEN Union Leader: NH nursing homes tell Shaheen they can't afford 'Trumpcare' “Nursing home administrators from around the state came together Friday to talk to U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., about the impact on New Hampshire’s elderly if Congress passes the Republican repeal of the Affordable Care Act. These providers said they are already suffering because of New Hampshire’s Medicaid low reimbursement rate and that suffering will only be exacerbated by passage of the Senate’s proposed Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), a bill Democrats refer to as ‘Trumpcare.’” [Union Leader, 6/30/17] NHBR: Shaheen: Small businesses are collateral damage in healthcare chaos “The Republican plan to overhaul our healthcare system is causing anxiety for millions of Americans and uncertainty for small businesses and entrepreneurs who are the backbone of our economy. The Senate bill was drafted in secret by Republican senators with no input from the public, no testimony from doctors or hospitals and no public hearings. This backroom maneuvering follows passage of the House Republican healthcare plan, which even President Trump has called ‘mean.’” [NHBR, 6/29/17] STABENOW Daily Tribune: Families affected by ACA speak in Royal Oak against its repeal “Ed Weberman was one of about a dozen metro Detroit residents called together Thursday, July 6, by U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, to speak at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, about how their families were affected by ACA. Republicans have passed legislation in the U.S. House and are negotiating a bill in the U.S. Senate that would repeal and replace ACA. Levin, whose district includes parts of Oakland and Macomb counties, said that under ACA, the uninsured rate in Michigan has dropped from 12 percent in 2010 to 6 percent in 2015. More than 660,000 Michigan residents have insurance under Healthy Michigan, an expansion of Medicaid, and about another 321,000 purchased insurance through the exchange set up under ACA. Stabenow said that giving more people access to health insurance has resulted in less uninsured people visiting emergency rooms, which drives up costs. ‘They can go to the doctor now instead of going to the emergency room,’ she said.” [Daily Tribune, 7/6/17] TESTER “Republicans are injecting instability into federal insurance marketplaces by suggesting lowering subsidies for people who buy coverage, and it’s a ‘slick trick’ to ensure the failure of the exchanges, the head of one of Montana’s largest hospitals said Thursday. Republicans favor the phrase ‘death spiral’ when discussing the health of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. One of the key provisions of the law, passed in 2010, was setting up marketplaces where people who didn’t get insurance from their job or through federal programs like Medicare or Medicaid could buy coverage, often with subsidies covering much of the cost. Great Falls-based Benefis CEO John Goodnow said the lifespan of the Affordable Care Act has been shortened because insurance companies are pulling out of the exchanges ‘because of all the fear that’s been created over funding.’ … ‘Tester’s not the issue,’ Goodnow said of Montana’s other senator, Democrat Jon Tester. ‘Tester is dead set against this. … This is an issue for Montana with just Sen. Daines.’” [Helena Independent Record, 7/6/17] Missoulian: Tester: Fight for what really matters “Too often, policy debates in Washington, D.C., devolve into partisan fistfights. Each side becomes so focused on landing a punch that they forget why they climbed into the ring in the first place. Just a few years ago, one in five Montanans did not have access to health insurance, and people couldn’t afford to get sick. When we passed health care reform, we took a big step forward, and today, more Montanans have access to health care than ever before.” [Missoulian, 7/5/17] Montana Public Radio: Daines, Tester Voice Their Thoughts On GOP Healthcare “Senators Jon Tester, D-MT, and Steve Daines, R-MT, both held public forums over the past week to gather Montanans opinions on the issue. Tester says the current GOP bill is not the answer. So when asked if he is willing to work to fix this proposal or the current law, Tester says yes. If it’s the later, he suggests dropping the politically charged moniker Obamacare. ‘Let’s call it the current health care system we have or whatever we want to do,’ says Tester. ‘The truth is I don’t want to alienate anybody with a title which is the way it seems it’s been the last 7-8 years.’” [Montana Public Radio, 7/2/17] Billings Gazette: Tester to GOP senators: Kill the health care bill, then let's talk “U.S. Sen. Jon Tester encouraged Republican lawmakers who backed away from the Senate GOP health care bill this week to follow through by voting against it after the July 4 break. Tester, a Democrat, said during a stop at Riverstone Health in Billings that the GOP opposition that resulted in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dropping plans for a vote this week wasn’t enough. The Senate GOP’s Better Care Reconciliation Act, written to repeal much of President Barack Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act, should be scrapped, Tester said.” [Billings Gazette, 6/30/17] VAN HOLLEN WCBC: Van Hollen Wants Health Care Bill Scrapped; Started Over with Democrats “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had hoped to stage a vote next week on the Senate's healthcare bill- however mounting opposition from his fellow republicans forced that vote to be delayed until after the July 4 recess. Maryland Democrat, Senator Chris Van Hollen doesn't think that's enough. He wants McConnell to scrap it and essentially start over- this time with an open process that includes democrats.” [WCBC, 6/30/17] WARNER WCAV: Legislation on cost-sharing reduction payments in health care marketplace “According to a release, Kaine and Warner have criticized the Trump administration for ‘creating uncertainty and destabilizing the individual marketplace with actions like threatening to withhold these payments, where were used by over six million Americans.’ ‘Last month, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners told the administration that uncertainty around cost-sharing reduction payments could lead to a 15 to 20 percent premium rate increase for consumers,’ said Warner. ‘Despite that, the Trump administration continues to destabilize the markets by refusing to permanently approve these payments that lower consumers' deductibles and co-pays. this is one action Congress can take now to shore up the individual markets and help stabilize health care costs.’” [WCAV, 6/30/17] WYDEN Albany Democrat-Herald: Wyden town hall covers vets issues, health care “U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden fielded questions for 90 minutes Wednesday during a town hall meeting at the Edward C. Allworth Veterans' Home, with the bulk of the questions covering health care and veteran’s issues. An audience member asked Wyden what's the biggest challenge for Veterans Affairs. ‘A lot of people don't understand how dramatically veterans' health care has changed over the last few decades,’ Wyden said. ‘Vets are surviving battlefield injuries that no one even thought possible a few years ago.’” [Albany Democrat-Herald, 7/7/17] Corvallis Gazette-Times: Wyden town hall covers vets issues, health care “U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden fielded questions for 90 minutes Wednesday during a town hall meeting at the Edward C. Allworth Veterans' Home, with the bulk of the questions covering health care and veterans issues. An audience member asked Wyden what's the biggest challenge for Veterans Affairs. ‘A lot of people don't understand how dramatically veterans' heath care has changed over the last few decades,’ Wyden said. ‘Vets are surviving battlefield injuries that no one even thought possible a few years ago.’” [Corvallis Gazette-Times, 7/6/17] The Register-Guard: ‘Die-in’ in Eugene protests health cuts “Three members of Oregon’s congressional delegation spent part of their Fourth of July recess rallying opposition to the latest Republican-drafted effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Rep. Peter DeFazio took to the podium Wednesday morning at the Wayne Morse federal courthouse in downtown Eugene to lead the ‘It’s Not Over’ rally in opposition to The Better Care Reconciliation Act. The bill is the Republican majority’s latest attempt to do away with the ACA, more commonly known as Obamacare.” [Register-Guard, 7/6/17] KOBI: Five on 5 – Senator Ron Wyden – (D) Oregon “On Tonight’s Five on 5, we are joined by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden discussing the debate over healthcare in the Nation’s Capitol.” [KOBI, 7/3/17] KDRV: Sen. Wyden Speaks on Health Care Bill “U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden says he hopes the Senate's health care bill gets dropped. The senator says the republican leader says he wants to bring the bill up right away, while Wyden hopes that it will be set aside - calling it ‘flawed’ and saying it will be ‘bad news’ for Oregonians. Wyden says that medicaid pays for the cost of two out of three nursing home beds in the state and that the bill is a ‘prescription for trouble.’” [KDRV, 7/3/17] Statesman Journal: Polk County residents raise health care fears at Wyden town hall “Cody Qualman has had more than a quarter million dollars worth of surgeries in his 14 years. They were covered by health insurance, but that may not be the case if Congress repeals the Affordable Care Act. Cody sat quietly in his wheelchair as Senator Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, discussed potential effects of reshaping health coverage with more than 50 residents Saturday morning at the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde tribal gym. Wyden's visit to Grand Ronde was his first stop in an eight county trip during the congressional Fourth of July recess to discuss healthcare in Polk, Lincoln, Douglas, Linn, Washington, Deschutes, Lane and Yamhill counties.” [Statesman Journal, 7/1/17] ### |
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