This ‘mean’ bill must be stopped

New Mexico cannot afford “Trumpcare.” The proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also called “Obamacare,” now being put together in the Senate, is so bad for New Mexico that economists believe it would devastate the state’s already struggling economy. A version of the American Health Care Act — Trumpcare — has passed the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Senate has been working behind closed doors to put together its own version of the repeal. Thirteen men wrote the bill, shown to lobbyists before other lawmakers got a chance to see it last week.

Now, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is determined to have a vote this week despite the lack of hearings and debate on legislation that impacts one-sixth of the entire U.S. economy. Make no mistake, this is bad legislation. It will hurt vulnerable people, cutting them off from critical services and the medical care they need to survive. From poor people who depend on Medicaid for health care, to rural hospitals that will lose money, to the projected 23 million people who could forfeit health insurance altogether, this bill takes the country backward. Over the next 10 years, federal spending on Medicaid will be slashed by $834 billion.

Older Americans would pay more for premiums, since the repeal would eliminate requirements that insurers can’t hike charges to elderly customers. Protections for people with pre-existing conditions would be eased, meaning that some people likely would not be able to buy coverage. The ban on lifetime caps — so important for people with life-threatening conditions — also would disappear, meaning a sick person literally could lose coverage during chemotherapy treatments. All this, with tax cuts for the wealthy included.

Yet Republicans are so desperate to say they repealed President Barack Obama’s signature legislation that they would pass a law that hurts the very voters who support them. Would that lawmakers had to take the physicians’ oath, “First, do no harm,” before making bad laws.

Through maneuvering, McConnell is attempting to pass the legislation through reconciliation, a process that means only 51 votes are needed for the bill to be approved. At that point, differences in the legislation between Senate and House versions will be reconciled, although there is speculation that the House will take whatever the Senate passes just to say it has repealed Obamacare.

With that possibility in mind, citizens must mobilize this week to let senators know that supporting this legislation will be poison to their political futures. Lawmakers must understand that voters will punish those senators and representatives who hurt them. A vote for Trumpcare must come at a huge cost.

The Senate is divided almost 50-50, with Republicans holding a 52-48 majority. That means three GOP senators (and all Democrats and Independents) must vote against this legislation. New Mexicans are fortunate that its two Democratic senators, Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, strongly oppose Trumpcare. Yes, it’s nice to call and show gratitude, but the focus in the coming days has to be on Republican senators.

They don’t listen to voters in other states, so our suggestion would be to lobby your relatives. Most New Mexicans have a few relatives in Arizona; Sen. John McCain does not seem to like this bill as written. Have your aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, etc., give his office a call. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz already has announced he opposes the bill right now; he, Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, appear to think Trumpcare is too generous. Have friends or relatives call, write or email them.

Republican women senators also should be targeted — the legislation reduces funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides essential health care to women across the country. Female lawmakers on the GOP side might be opposed to abortion without wanting to deny women access to obstetrics and gynecological care.

The lack of any women on the committee writing the legislation is a particular sticking point. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia need to be inundated with citizen protest. Murkowski told the Alaska state legislature earlier this year that, “I, for one, do not believe that Planned Parenthood has any place in our deliberations on the Affordable Care Act. Taxpayer dollars should not be used to pay for abortions, but I will not vote to deny Alaskans access to the health services that Planned Parenthood provides.”

Moore Capito has other reasons to oppose the legislation — by cutting back the Medicaid expansion, the repeal reduces critical funding for treatment of opioid addiction, and her state, like New Mexico, is one of the hardest hit in this epidemic. She and Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio are anxious that the new legislation does not damage addicts trying to get their lives back on track. However, changing how Medicaid works and capping future spending would mean addicts will lose treatment; this, despite an epidemic that is claiming 91 American lives a day. U.S. Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada is considered the most vulnerable senator as he seeks re-election in 2018 — target him as well.

Basically, the Democrats — the people, really — need to find three GOP senators who will vote no and keep all the Democrats and Independents. This will be difficult, considering how badly the GOP wants to say it repealed Obamacare.

In New Mexico, this legislation would cost jobs, damage rural hospitals and clinics, and mean that sick people will not be able to obtain the care they need. Gov. Susana Martinez’s finest moment, perhaps, was her decision to seek the Medicaid expansion that was part of the Obamacare legislation. Some 787,000 New Mexicans depend on Medicaid. Now, those gains are threatened.

But citizens do not have to accept this cruel legislation — even President Trump called the House version “mean,” and the Senate version is just as bad, if not worse. Trump was correct. Stop the meanness, before it is too late.