Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act chooses tax cuts over health care

I RECENTLY EXPRESSED my concern to our senators in Washington about the Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). They agreed with my general concerns about losing my health care and shared more of their own concerns for New Mexicans.

According to recent estimates from Sen. Tom Udall’s office, nearly 300,000 New Mexicans would be in jeopardy of losing health care coverage through Medicaid expansion or the individual market. The majority would be children, the disabled and the elderly.

The BCRA shifts funding from the federal government to states. In addition, Udall’s office estimates 49,513 jobs, largely created by the health care expansion, would be lost in New Mexico by 2022. If you think it’s hard to get care now, imagine what it will be like if this bill passes. With the loss of so many jobs, the BCRA would destabilize the marketplace adversely, affecting one in six Americans by 2020. Families will see the cost of maternity care rise by thousands of dollars, putting it out of reach for millions of people.

If you think only the poor will be affected, think again. The Kaiser Family Foundation projects a 59 percent increase in premiums for New Mexico. This is a killer bill, and we need to let all (lawmakers) everywhere know we don’t want to see our loved ones die for tax cuts to corporations and the very wealthy.

If you wonder why Republicans would do this, read the article in the June 26 Albuquerque Journal about Republican donors refusing to give money to Republican candidates until the ACA is repealed and a tax-reform bill with large cuts for corporations and the wealthy are done.

Meanwhile, be vigilant about their amendments over the holiday. SANDRA L. DUCKERT Corrales