PROTECT OUR CARE. ** WEEKLY WRAP UP ** [ April 3 - April 10, 2017 ] Republicans Return Home for Recess Promising to Repeal Health Care

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1 PROTECT OUR CARE ** WEEKLY WRAP UP ** [ April 3 - April 10, 2017 ] Hundreds turn out for a health care town hall in South Bend, Indiana Republicans Return Home for Recess Promising to Repeal Health Care Members of Congress left Washington and returned home for a two week recess and the GOP leadership says they re still intent on repealing health care - even suggesting they would bring Congress back during recess. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA): Should we be prepared to advance our bill through the House in the coming two weeks, we will advise Members immediately and give you sufficient time to return to Washington. [The Hill, 4/6/17] It doesn t seem to matter to them that they failed at repealing health care a couple of weeks ago - and the fact that 83 percent of people oppose their plans. It doesn t seem to matter that their plans would cut coverage for 24 million Americans, raise costs by 20%, make people over 50 pay as much as 5 times more and allow insurance companies to deny basic coverage again. They re DETERMINED to get a vote - with some reports even saying President Trump is demanding one in order to avoid embarrassment for the failure. What will Congress do? Stand up to the non-stop march to repeal health care or take away coverage from 24 million and increase costs for millions more? Making an Already Bad Bill Even Worse Just before recess, the Trump Administration along with the far-right Freedom Caucus attempted to revive health care repeal along with Administrative waivers to roll back insurance protections. Their original plan would have raised premiums even more and forced millions of people off of their coverage because they could no longer afford it. When that failed, the Trump Administration schemed with the Freedom Caucus to make the bill even worse. States could decide that insurance companies no longer have to cover essential health benefits such as covering prescription drugs, doctor visits or maternity care and that states can charge women or people with pre-existing conditions as much as they want.

2 Bottom line: Instead of working together to make a better health care system, the Trump Administration and Republican leaders are giving into the demands of the extreme-fringe and planning to gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions and denying coverage for basic health services. Town Halls: Constituents Demand Congress Give Up on Repeal Only a few days into recess and members of congress are hearing loudly and clearly from their constituents that it s time to give up on repealing the Affordable Care Act. Constituent To Rep. Ryan Costello (PA-06) On Repeal: I Will Be Dead. Hundreds turned out for a town hall with Rep. Costello who originally voted in committee to repeal health care and later changed his mind. A woman said that her prescription drugs cost her $35 a month but without the Affordable Care Act the life-saving drugs would cost $750 per month. As CNN reports, within weeks of Obamacare s repeal, she said, I will be dead. I d like to know if you're going to come to my funeral, she asked Costello. [CNN, 4/8/2017] Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-04) Town Hall: Shame On You, Tom, You ve Lost Your Integrity. David Emerson criticized Rep. McClintock s support for repealing the health care law, You promised me (at the February town hall meeting in Roseville) that the shift from Obamacare would be equal to or better, Emerson said. Shame on you, Tom, you ve lost your integrity. [Auburn Journal, 4/9/2017] 500 Turn Out To South Bend Town Hall But Rep. Jackie Walorski Refuses To Show. The crowd chanted, Where is Jackie?, at the South Bend, IN town hall when Rep. Jackie Walorski who supported the failed attempt at repealing the Affordable Care Act failed to show. Video here. [WNDU, 4/9/2017] New Recess Ads Call Out Members Who Refused to Protect Our Care Save My Care is beginning to air a battery of television ads in the districts of seven House Republican Members of Congress about the damaging impact of the GOP's health care repeal bill and urging them to move on from it. The seven-figure ad buy will be running in the following districts: Mike Coffman (CO-06); Carlos Curbelo (FL-26); Darrell Issa (CA-49); Tom MacArthur (NJ-03); Brian Mast (FL-18); Martha McSally (AZ-02); & David Valadao (CA-21). An example of the ad running in Congressman Issa's district is available here. Coverage Highlights: TV ads slam Republicans over would-be Obamacare repeal Politico // April 10 // Kyle Cheney Seven House Republicans face TV ad attacks over health care Washington Post // April 10 // Mike Debonis Ads will target vulnerable Republicans over ObamaCare repeal effort The Hill // April 10 // Jesse Hellmann Pro-Obamacare Ads To Target House GOPers Who Supported GOP Repeal Bill Talking Points Memo // April 10 // Tierney Sneed

3 Key Questions Every Member of Congress Needs to Answer Members need to keep hearing from their constituents so they understand that it s time to give up on repealing the health care law. Remember: Keep it personal. The best and most impactful questions are ones where someone shares their story about what the Affordable Care Act has meant to them or their family. 1. Do you agree with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan that you should not work with Democrats to fix the Affordable Care Act and work together to bring costs down? 2. Will you give up on repealing and replacing the law with anything that results in people losing their health coverage and increasing costs? 3. Do you agree with the latest repeal efforts that include weakening protections for people with pre-existing conditions by allowing insurance companies to charge them as much as they want? 4. Do you think the Trump Administration should be working to strengthen the individual market versus trying to sabotage it? Visit ResistanceRecess.com to find a town hall near you! Obamacare Isn't In A Death Spiral, But It Could Be Ruined By Uncertainty Standard and Poor Financial Services (S&P) released a report finding that the individual health insurance market is not in a death spiral and is in fact on a path to stabilization if the individual market is allowed to operate as it was designed. Every time something new (and potentially disruptive) is thrown into the works, it impedes the individual market s path to stability. S&P noted that the political uncertainty could affect consumer options for 2018 coverage. If insurers are uneasy regarding the future of the market, they may have to decide between adding an uncertainty buffer to their pricing or worst case exiting the exchanges altogether. Coverage Highlights: Obamacare isn't in a death spiral, but it could be ruined by uncertainty Axios // April 7 // David Nather Congress leaves town, leaving health insurers in the dark CNBC // April 7 // Bertha Coombs

4 Report: ObamaCare markets stabilizing absent drastic changes to law The Hill // April 7 // Peter Sullivan Why It s Still Trump s Fault if Obamacare Fails Fortune // April 2 // Craig Garthwaite Six Ways to Tell If Trump Is Sabotaging Obamacare The president appears to be rooting for the Affordable Care Act to fail. Here s a guide to determine whether he s laying the groundwork. Key Questions: 1. Will Trump sustain cost-sharing subsidies? 2. Will Trump fail to enforce the ACA s individual mandate? 3. Will Trump encourage or discourage enrollment? 4. Will Trump strengthen or undermine critical financing support for the insurance market? 5. Does Trump use the bully pulpit to weaken the ACA? 6. Will he issue regulations that weaken insurance? New Analysis: Collateral Damage from Repeal - Employer Plans In the wake of House Republicans failed attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the White House is reportedly working with the House Freedom Caucus on a Plan B that reportedly includes an amendment to the American Health Care Act that would allow states to remove consumer protections established in Title I of the ACA. The new report from the Century Foundation finds that if all Title I insurance reforms were repealed and states were tasked with replacing them, there would be no pathway for states to restore consumer protections for the 91 million Americans in self-insured employer plans (see Map). Kaiser Health Poll: Trump and Republicans Responsible for the ACA As the Trump Administration tried to negotiate a secret health care repeal deal behind closed doors last week including Administrative sabotage, a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 61% of Americans say Trump and Republicans are responsible for any problems. In addition, three in four Americans want President Trump to make the law work and stabilize insurance markets, compared to 19 percent who think his administration should take steps to make Obamacare fail and replace the law later.

5 Also important to note: approval of the the Affordable Care Act hit a record high of 55 percent. Coverage Highlights: GOP owns health care dilemma now, and voter skepticism AP // April 10 // Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Emily Swanson Majority of Trump supporters say make Obamacare work, poll says Palm Beach Post // April 4 The Pottery Barn theory of Obamacare: you break it, you buy it Vox // April 5 This Week s Local Coverage Highlights: Letter: Republicans have history of sabotaging health care Knoxville News Sentinel // April 6 // Laurence Best Letter: GOP health plan discriminates Danville Commercial News // April 9 // Dave Miller Letter: Don t let Faso off the hook for his votes Times Herald-Record // April 3 // Bill Duncan Letters: Tenney, GOP failed on healthcare Oneida Daily Dispatch // April 3 // Lisa Oristian Tenney s support of AHCA does not bode well Press Sun-Bulletin // April 6 // James Lake Never Forget: Dave Reichert Voted for Trumpcare The Stranger // March 27 // Rich Smith In Case You Missed It Must read from CBPP s Aviva Aron-Dine: To Help Stabilize the Individual Health Insurance Market, Take ACA Repeal Off the Table. Also from CBPP, Edwin Park explains the GOP s latest health care amendment: Tweak to House GOP Health Bill Much Ado About Nothing.

6 Check out CAP Action s recess toolkit - RecessToolkit.com - made for mobile for anyone anywhere to plug into the resistance over the next two weeks - whether at a town hall or on the couch. Families USA has a handy recess toolkit as well and a good tweet to share: Families The White House & Congress own what happens in #healthcare. Find a townhall & tell your Rep to #ProtectOurCare bit.ly/2omk59q pic.twitter.com/cxgcsynq3d *** To sign up for Protect Our Care updates, please fill out this form. ***