Medical professionals joined the rallies and protests held this week against President Trump to denounce the Republicans’ proposed health care bill, which has been referred to as the “Care-LESS” plan and “Trumpcare.”
One protest was held at a L.A. County hospital while others were held in front of the offices of Republican legislators.
Residents also protested in front of Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office.
“We must not let up,” said Deborah Poppink, of Resist in L.A., which organized the protest.
“The town halls were powerful, but we must continue the fight to tell Feinstein to protect our health care and tell Trump that we will not accept his vicious plan that cuts poor and middle class benefits to fund a tax cut for the rich,” she said.
“Republicans voted dozens of times to repeal Obamacare during the last administration, promising that they could put in place something that was cheaper and yet could deliver better benefits. We now see that their plan, like their policies and Trump’s actions, are all about benefitting the 1 percent, privatizing Medicaid, taxing the elderly, and punishing women and children.”
The GOP plan, like Obamacare, is linked to tax credits. However, the value of the Republican tax credits are tied to a customer’s age, and those credits would not adjust for income or for the cost of insurance plans. Critics point out that the GOP plan allows older customers to be charged up to five times more in premiums for insurance than younger customers, as opposed to the 3-to-1 ratio allowed by Obamacare.
The challenge for older Americans is that they may not be able to afford the insurance premiums.
On Monday, March 13, following the release of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, Rep. Tony Cardenas, who represents the Northeast San Fernando Valley, released a statement regarding the impact of the Republican Affordable Care Act Repeal:
“This report leaves no doubt — under the Republicans’ bill, Americans will pay more for less. Older Americans will face higher premiums, forcing them to pay up to five times more than what a younger person pays. And it will make healthcare harder and more expensive for working families to get. It gives huge tax credits to the wealthy, while ripping apart Medicaid. The Republican plan strips 24 million Americans of their coverage and nearly doubles the amount of uninsured to 56 million people. It leaves them in the dust without healthcare. The Republicans are ramming this plan through Congress. It is reckless and unacceptable.”
Majority leader Paul Ryan has said he wants the bill to go to a full vote of the House by the week of March 20.
Next week, the San Fernando Valley Sun/El Sol talks to Valley residents who currently receive their health insurance through the ACA, also known as Obamacare.