Post by bot on May 22, 2017 9:34:24 GMT -5
Where are Constituents Unhappy About #TrumpCare? Everywhere.
House Republicans return from the District Work Period today after facing over a week of fierce backlash against TrumpCare. Across the country, Republicans were feeling the heat for their vote, and with each passing day, TrumpCare is getting more unpopular. Here is where TrumpCare stands in the polls right now:
A NBC/ Wall Street Journal poll found:
“By a 2-to-1 ratio, Americans say the health care legislation that was recently passed by the House and supported by President Donald Trump is a bad idea instead of a good idea…”
“That 25-point gap between good idea and bad idea is larger than the NBC/WSJ poll ever found for Barack Obama's health-care plan.”
According to a Quinnipiac Poll:
“…Only 21 percent of American voters approve of the Republican health care plan passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week”
“Except for an anemic 48 - 16 percent support among Republicans, every listed party, gender, educational, age and racial group opposes the plan…”
Here is a look at what constituents told House Republicans:
Alabama’s 5th District: “They want their voice to be heard, because they all have personal reasons as to why they don't approve of the new health care bill. Huntsville resident Gina McGill just finished her chemo treatment after getting breast cancer…She said the language in the current health care bill says she has a pre-existing condition. ‘So that’s why I stand here, because I represent many woman who have breast cancer. We count and we matter,’ McGill said.” [WHNT, 5/6/17]
Arkansas’ 3rd District: “People gathered at the Bentonville Square and held up signs in the shape of tombstones. ‘It represents pretty much exactly what you think: it's the death that might come if it's repealed,’ organizer of the protest, Caitlynn Moses, said. The tombstones had their typical inscription: name and death date. But they also had one major difference you wouldn't normally see in a graveyard. The cause of death: not being able to afford the new GOP healthcare plan. ‘Right now I have what they consider a pre-existing condition and mine is based on a flawed lab test. What I had in fact was Lymes disease. I had Lymes disease for 12 years without ever receiving a diagnosis and now I wouldn't be able to afford health insurance without the ACA,’ protestor, Julia Sampson, said.” [NWA, 5/7/17]
California’s 10th District: “Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), who voted for the Republican healthcare bill that passed the House last week, flew home this week to face his constituents... ‘You voted against me,’ said one woman who said she depends on Medi-Cal for her healthcare.’” [LA Times, 5/9/17]
California’s 21st District: “Thursday, several groups who oppose the AHCA rallied outside of [Rep. David] Valadao’s Bakersfield office, hoping to send a strong message of disappointment to their representative. ‘I feel like an orphan child here,’ said Julie Otero, who opposes the AHCA. ‘We don't have nobody in this county to represent us. We are alone here.’” [Bakersfield Now, 5/4/17]
California’s 25th District: “Supporters of Planned Parenthood rallied outside the office of Rep. Steve Knight, R-Santa Clarita, Thursday afternoon, voicing their outrage after Knight voted in favor of the House bill, known as the American Healthcare Act... As late as Wednesday afternoon Knight was among three House Republicans — including Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, and David Valadao, R-Hanford – who had either opposed the GOP bill or had serious reservations. But by Thursday, they had quietly changed their minds.” [LA Daily News, 5/4/17]
California’s 49th District: “Rolling up in wheelchairs and walkers, hobbling with bandaged heads and neck braces, hundreds of people who live in Rep. Darrell Issa’s district lined up outside his Vista, California, office… Valarie McCourtney, who lives down the street from her lawmaker¹s office and came to protest with a boxful of her family’s prescription medications… ‘I feel really betrayed. There was a sense he was being more moderate. He made a good show and I believed him. After this vote, there's really no way that I can go back and ever believe in him.’” [CNN, 5/10/17]
California’s 52nd District: “…Critics say they have a message for Congressional Republicans when they’re up for elections, specifically Congressman Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa… ‘If this we’re to go through the Senate, which will vote in the coming weeks, we will have people dying because our politicians wanted to play games with our lives and with our health.’” [CBS 8, 5/5/17]
Florida’s 1st District: “A local Democratic group plans to protest the recent House vote to repeal Obamacare, starting at the doorstep of a local Congressman [Matt Gaetz] who voted in favor of the repeal.” [CW55, 5/8/17]
Florida’s 15th District: At Dennis Ross’ Lakeland office, a constituent named Claudia said: “I know what it would be like if I couldn’t afford my medication, and I am on Medicare… But that is a hell of a way to die, because you can’t afford your medications.” [WMNF, 5/5/17]
Florida 25th District: “Two moderate Republicans who represent the area, Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Mario Diaz Balart, voted for the House repeal bill on Thursday after remaining publicly undecided until the final hours. Over the past week, local activists have jammed their phone lines, held protests outside their offices, and canvassed door-to-door against them. ‘They can’t get a free pass,’ Tomas Kennedy, an organizer with the Service Employees International Union in southern Florida, told TPM. ‘People are really pissed off about this, even Republicans,’ Kennedy said. ‘They’re worried about what’s going to happen to their health care plan. They’re worried about losing protections for pre-existing conditions. They’re worried about losing Medicaid.’” [Talking Points Memo, 5/11/17]
Florida’s 26th District: “[Judith] Casale, a Miami native who runs a small brokerage company with her husband Dan, said the couple depends on Obamacare after both developed preexisting conditions that made it almost impossible for them to find health insurance… ‘I have called him pretty much every day. I have faxed. I have tweeted. I have Facebooked,’ she said of Curbelo. ‘I have told him, fix it, don't repeal it.’ … On a clear blue Saturday, Ray Gonzalez, took a break from a relative's birthday party in a Miami park to say he likes the insurance he's been on for the past two-and-half years through the Affordable Care Act exchange in Florida. ‘I need to know why he wants to take it away,’ said Gonzalez, who sells landscaping stones, of Curbelo's vote to repeal the law.” [NBC News, 5/8/17]
Georgia’s 7th District: “A dozen-and-a-half or so cardboard headstones hovered above the heads of Cumming, south Forsyth and Gwinnett County residents… the group’s message was the same: protest the American Health Care Act (AHCA)… and get the attention of U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, who represents Georgia’s 7th Congressional District, which includes the majority of Forsyth and Gwinnett counties… Thirty-two-year-old Gwinnett County resident Eboni Ivery, who passed Monday’s protest on her way from the justice building, said while she takes issue with many aspects of the bill, she ultimately has more questions than answers… ‘I have a grandma who’s 85 and going through Alzheimer’s — how is she going to benefit from this? What if someone is disabled? What about our veterans? How do we benefit from this, from our veterans to our senior citizens? And are the generations behind me going to have something to fall back on? That’s my biggest fear.’” [Forsyth County News, 5/10/17]
Idaho’s 1st District: “…Republican Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho faced a chorus of boos after claiming nobody dies due to lack of health care at a town hall on Friday… ‘You are making a mandate that will kill people,’ said a woman who stood up and challenged the Idaho representative over the newly passed bill.” [Fox News, 5/6/17]
Illinois 6th District: “The Affordable Care Act saved the Grover family’s lives, but they stand to lose it all if the act is repealed. ‘My whole family has pre-existing conditions,’ said Lea Grover of Cary…Grover is one of many who joined protests this week across Illinois in an effort to express disapproval to local legislators who voted to approve the controversial American Health Care Act, which could replace the Affordable Care Act.” [NorthWest Herald, 5/13/17]
Indiana’s 5th District: “Some of the people outside [Rep. Susan] Brooks’ office said they were upset about how people with pre-existing conditions would be treated… ‘There's a whole list of things that could be considered pre-existing conditions that people don't really think of,’ said one of the women waiting to see Brooks… ‘The percentage of people that fall under pre-existing conditions is incredible.’” [WIBC, 5/5/17]
Iowa’s 1st District: “It was a rough start to a recess week for [Rep. Rod] Blum…One woman complained that ‘You voted on this bill in a rush — there were no committee hearings. This pertains to my life. This is not democracy works and you know that… What was the rush?’” [Washington Post, 5/8/17]
Kansas 2nd District: “Protesters stood in front of Representative Lynn Jenkins’, (R-Kansas), office with ‘honk for healthcare signs’ to encourage her to vote ‘no’ on the American Health Care Act on Thursday. The bill passed that afternoon while they protested…. Pittsburg resident Marcia Weeks used her minor pre-existing condition as an example. She said she is concerned she may not qualify for insurance again after finally having insurance when the ACA was in place. ‘When you leave your job it’s expensive,’ she said ‘I looked for health insurance on the open market and was turned down over, and over and over again.’ Weeks also said the ACA got rid of lifetime caps for insurance — previously, she said many people would go bankrupt because they got sick.’” [Morning Sun, 4/5/17]
Maine’s 2nd District: “More than two-dozen people lined up outside Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin’s office in Bangor today to oppose a congressional vote on a bill that seeks to replace the Obamacare health plan. Joe Baldacci, Bangor’s mayor, said Mainers have a lot to lose if the Republican health care bill that narrowly passed in the House is approved in the Senate. ‘Bangor hospitals, just the ones here in town, are going to lose $62 million in revenue.’ he said. ‘In addition there are 2,000 people that reside in Bangor who receive coverage and they’re likely not to receive coverage under this new plan.’” [Maine Public Radio, 5/4/17]
Michigan’s 6th District: “Some constituents of U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, are not happy with his yes vote on the GOP health care legislation, which they made clear with multiple protests at his Kalamazoo office… ‘That's not going to be nearly enough,’ Martha Faketty, of Kalamazoo said of the amendment. ‘It's going to cost lives.’” [ MLive, 5/4/17]
Minnesota’s 2nd and 3rd Districts: “About 150 people showed up outside the Eden Prairie office of U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen over the lunch hour, and another 50 at the Burnsville office of U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis… At the ‘die-in’ outside Lewis’ office, 69-year-old Eagan real estate agent Sharon Bowman said: ‘I have family members who are alive today’ because of Obamacare. ‘It’s not an exaggeration that people will die. The level of callousness is breathtaking.’” [Star Tribune, 6/6/17]
Missouri’s 7th District: “…Missourians who are worried about the future of their health care were protesting that same vote outside of Congressman Billy Long's office in Springfield…. ‘It’s going to make it very difficult to have access to care for many people in our nation,’ said Rev. Phil Snider, a senior minister at Brentwood Christian Church, who joined protesters outside Long’s office.” [Ozarks First, 5/4/17]
Nevada 2nd District: “‘This bill is inhumane, and a means by which to increase the profits of the health insurance industry,’ said Amy Vilela, healthcare advocate… Nevada Republican Mark Amodei, who was initially a firm ‘no’ vote on the American Health Care Act voted ‘yes’ Thursday.” [CBS 8, 5/8/17]
New York’s 2nd District: “With a cardboard cutout of Rep. Peter King onstage, more than 200 activists held a mock town hall Sunday where speakers attacked the Seaford Republican’s stances on the environment, women’s issues and health care. Those at the Dominican Village assisted living facility in Amityville criticized King for his support of President Donald Trump and in particular the American Health Care Act, which narrowly passed the House last week and now heads to the Senate.” [Newsday, 5/9/17]
New York’s 19th District: “A crowd estimated at nearly 200 protested Friday afternoon outside the district office of U.S. Rep. John Faso. The weekly Friday protest was unusually large, following this week’s U.S. House of Representatives vote by Faso to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The crowd was undaunted by chilly weather and rain squalls.” [Daily Freeman News, 5/6/17]
New York’s 21st District: “Back in Plattsburgh, N.Y., [Rep. Elise] Stefanik got an earful about her ‘yes’ vote from her constituents… No one other than Stefanik had anything good to say about the bill. Nina Matteau, a breast cancer survivor, said the GOP plan includes loopholes that threaten people with pre-existing conditions. ‘Can you explain how this constitutes better health care at lower premiums as promised?’ Matteau asked.” [NPR, 5/9/17]
New York’s 23rd District: “A Republican congressman [Rep. Tom Reed] from western New York has gotten an earful from constituents over his vote to repeal the federal health care law commonly called ‘ObamaCare…’ Attendees at an earlier town hall in Hinsdale said they’re afraid they’ll lose coverage for pre-existing conditions, including cancer and diabetes.” [Fox News, 5/6/17]
New Jersey 11th District: “The sidewalk in front of the Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen’s district office was packed with protesters on Thursday as the House held a vote to rewrite the Affordable Care Act…. Morristown’s Elsa Sjunneson-Henry was born with congential rubella, a condition that causes heart defects, hearing loss and blindness. She said Frelinghyusen should consider constituents with conditions like hers when casting his vote. ‘I was born with a pre-existing condition,’ she said. ‘Rodney Frelinghuysen wants to punish me for being born disabled.’” [NJ Observer, 5/4/17]
North Carolina 11th District: “A handful of people gathered in downtown Asheville Friday to protest that healthcare bill passed by the House. Organizer Leslie Boyd says she's concerned about the bill’s lack of protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Boyd says her son was born with a predisposition to colon cancer. She says when he was later diagnosed with the disease, before Obamacare was enacted, he was treated like he brought it on himself.” [WLOS, 5/5/17]
Ohio’s 2nd district: “Several of the demonstrators said that Rep. [Brad] Wenstrup is not representing them. A live town hall would give all constituents an opportunity to share their views, Sandy Sommer of Mount Adams said. ‘We feel disenfranchised. We don’t feel like we’re being heard,’ she said. This is her third or fourth time Sommer said she's been out to Wenstrup’s office.” [Cincinnati.com, 5/5/17]
Ohio 7th District: “Judy Alsip, a Canton resident, told council her son was diagnosed with cancer when he was a child and that provisions in the Republican bill could allow states to permit insurers to charge higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions, which is not allowed by the Affordable Care Act, if the states established high risk insurance pools to cover them. ‘My young son leads a good life, lives a good life, did absolutely nothing to ask for cancer. But the AHCA could make him pay very high rates and even so high, they’re cost prohibitive and (he may) not get insurance throughout his life,’ she said.” [Canton Rep, 5/8/17]
Ohio 8th District: “Local residents worried about the future of the nation’s health care rallied on Prouty Plaza on Sunday… area residents gathered to let their concerns be heard and to oppose 8th Congressional District Rep. Warren Davidson’s (R-Troy) vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare.” [Troy Daily News, 7/7/17]
Ohio’s 12th District: “Protesters gathered outside the Worthington offices of Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi…. Dr. Greg Lam, a cardiologist from Circleville, said publicly protesting was a first for him. ‘It’s going to take money away from the poor and from middle income patients and it’s going to give it to the rich and the pharmaceutical companies and the insurance companies,’ Lam said. ‘I just think morally – that’s wrong. So I’m here to stand up for my patients.’” [AP, 5/4/17]
Ohio’s 15th District: “Protests popped up in front of both Rep. Pat Tiberi and Rep. Steve Stivers offices. Protesters hoped they could convince them to vote against the Republican plan. Both representatives voted for it. Critics pointed out the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office hadn't figured out how much the bill would cost or how many people would be covered. ‘The problem is I have no idea (what this will do to my insurance),’ said Kay Barker, a small business owner who buys her family's insurance through an exchange set up by the Affordable Care Act. ‘No one has any idea what this is going to do. I do know the ACA has helped us immeasurably and it is affordable.’’”[ABC6, 5/4/17]
Oklahoma 4th District: “More than a dozen people demonstrated outside [Rep. Tom] Cole’s office after he voted for the new health care bill…. ‘We wanted to illustrate what is going to happen to potentially us and thousands of other Oklahomans,’ said Krista Bryson.” [KOCO, 5/6/17]
Pennsylvania's 4th District: “Republican Scott Perry represents Pennsylvania's 4th district... The day after the health care vote, he had a crowd of people outside his Wormleysburg office in Cumberland County…Stephanie Gray, a health actuary, said they agreed on some basic points--for instance, that healthcare costs are too high. But she said tension arose on topics like women's care, which would be impacted under the GOP plan…She also said there's some disagreement about what the plan would actually do. ‘Representative Perry believes that people are going to continue to have coverage under the American Health Care Act, when the CBO has stated that 24 million people are going to lose their coverage,’ she said.” [WITF, 5/5/17]
South Dakota (At Large): “Dozens of people were protesting the House's passage of the GOP health care bill in front of South Dakota Rep. Kristi Noem's office in Sioux Falls Saturday morning. ‘What else can we do,’ Dave Wegner of Sioux Falls said. ‘Our voice is so small against all the power, that and the poor representation we in South Dakota get in Washington.’” [KSFY, 5/7/17]
Tennessee’s 6th District: “Approximately 31 Upper Cumberland citizens have gathered outside US Representative Diane Black’s district office in Cookeville. These citizens are holding a candlelight vigil ‘protest’ in response to today’s passage of the US House bill that repeals the Affordable Care Act and replaces it with the Republican’s version.” [SpartaLive, 5/4/17]
Tennessee 7th District: “Former Jars of Clay singer Dan Haseltine had one message for Franklin when it comes to health care. ‘When we want our kids offering more than they have to give, you need to look at the poor. Today, I stand here because I want to support good work, so the poor have the health care that they need, so they can recover with dignity and be nursed back to health.’ … Haseltine was just one of 30 people gathered in Franklin on Friday who expressed their concerns over the proposed legislation. Colorful signs stood behind him, with messages asking for Congress to have mercy on those who could be adversely affected by the law.” [The Tennessean, 5/5/17]
Tennessee 8th District: “…Groups gathered at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in protest of congressional leaders voting to repeal and replace the American Health Care Act. Organizers say about 20 people gathered sending a message to Representative David Kustoff holding him accountable for his vote on the bill.” [WBBJ, 5/7/17]
Texas’ 7th District: “A noisy but peaceful gathering outside U.S. Rep. John Culberson’s west Houston office Sunday afternoon brought out dozens of chanting protesters determined to send a vote-shaming message to the long-time Republican congressman... Also in the crowd was Dr. Jason Westin, a cancer researcher and physician at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. ‘All of my patients have a pre-existing conditions,’ he said. ‘This is personal for me.’” [Chron, 7/7/17]
Utah’s 4th District: “Utah’s all-Republican House delegation voted Thursday in favor of a health care overhaul that could impact people with pre-existing conditions, triggering serious worries from people who fit that category…. Murray resident Jake Martinez, 32, said he's worried about getting health insurance in the future since he has epilepsy, considered a pre-existing condition by insurers….‘Today, it really kind of sunk in that not only are we not going to potentially have health care coverage, but that it was done as a political win rather than a well-thought out plan,’ said Jake Martinez, a former chef who is studying social work. ‘That's what stings about it.’” [AP, 5/4/17]
Virginia’s 2nd District: “Protesters gathered at Town Center Thursday evening to hold a candlelight vigil after the House of Representatives, including Rep. Scott Taylor, voted to pass a bill to repeal Obamacare. Dozens of people gathered in a circle within downtown Virginia Beach following the vote…. Many in attendance voiced outrage over Taylor who was one of the 217 votes to pass the bill, a decision he then tweeted about soon after.” [SouthSide Daily, 5/5/17]
Virginia’s 7th District: “Protesters chanting ‘let history know we said no’ set the scene for a raucous town hall inside a Midlothian church Tuesday night…. CBS 6 reporter Melissa Hipolit talked to VCU health care policy professor, Dr. Peter Cunningham, about how the AHCA would actually impact Virginians. Dr. Cunningham said the AHCA does not allow insurance companies to raise costs for folks with pre-existing conditions, but it does allow states to seek a waiver from that requirement. ‘Which means in their states they would allow plans to charge higher rates for pre-existing conditions,’ Cunningham said.” [CBS 6, 5/10/17]
West Virginia’s 1st District: “Thursday night in front of [Rep. David] McKinley's office in Morgantown, concerned citizens gathered to voice their opinion on the recent vote. They told us why they didn't support it, and expressed they were upset one of their representatives voted in favor of it. ‘There are some really insane things within this repeal that are important. Such as, things that are important to me, raping a pre-existing condition which is kind of insane because a person makes the choice for you,’ said organizer Christopher Reeds.” [WDTV, 5/4/17]
Wisconsin 1st District: “‘Healthcare for all. We shall not be moved.’ These were the chants of protesters outside Speaker Paul Ryan's office. The group of protesters didn't budge on their hopes even after hearing the vote to repeal and replace Obamacare had passed the House of Representatives… ‘He's 15 years old already had two heart surgeries and a bowel surgery,’ said Nikki Aiello. Aiello was protesting for her nephew, who she says is one of those 24 million people. She says he was born with a pre-existing condition. ‘I don't know how Paul Ryan can claim to be supportive of life when he's doing something like this that will deprive people of healthcare and will cost people their lives,’ said Aiello.” [CBS58, 5/4/17]
Wisconsin’s 7th District: “Dozens of protesters gathered outside of Congressman Sean Duffy's office Thursday before the Republican health care bill was passed asking him to withdraw his support. Many of them echoed the same concerns expressed earlier in the week that the bill lacked coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. Joyce Luedke was at the protest and described the bill as unfair, immoral and unchristian. ‘I told Congressman Duffy we the tax payers cover his family of 10 with quality health insurance. Has he ever acknowledged our contribution to him and his family,’ asked Luedke.” [WSAW, 5/4/17]
Wisconsin 8th District: “Protesters gathered outside of Congressman Mike Gallagher's office in Appleton Thursday in response to the health care vote in Congress... Irene Strohbeen also said she is considered a person with pre-existing conditions because of genetic condition that affects her blood. She is afraid if the Affordable Care act is repealed she won't be able to afford health insurance. Thursday afternoon she participated and called on Congressman Gallagher to protect her and so many others like her in her situation.” [NBC26, 5/4/17]
With control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, Republicans are responsible for the future of American health care. It’s time for Senate Republicans to listen to the American people, abandon the repeal effort, and work with Democrats to ensure quality, affordable health coverage.