The Senate is pushing hard this week for a vote on their health care proposal, which they are calling the Better Care Reconciliation Act.
The bill shares many similarities with the widely unpopular House bill that the President called “mean.” Millions will lose coverage. The wealthiest get tax breaks. We will pay for it because the excise tax remains.
- 13: Number of U.S. Senators who shaped the recently-released bill in secret.
- $5.3 million: Average individual net worth of those Senators.*
- Billions: Amount of tax breaks going to the wealthiest because of this bill.
- 40 percent: Union members and others with quality, employer-based health insurance plans will be subjected to a 40 percent excise tax to pay for the Senate bill.**
- 22 million: Number of people who will lose health care if this bill becomes law according to the Congressional Budget Office.
- 0: Number of Senators who will lose their health care if this becomes law.
- 5x: Rate at which older Americans can be charged more for insurance compared to younger Americans (five times as much).
- 2 out of 3: Portion of seniors in nursing homes who are served by Medicaid. The Senate bill contains massive cuts to Medicaid.
- More than 1/3: Number of children covered by Medicaid that this bill puts at risk.
- 10: Categories of “essential health benefits” that could no longer be included in health care plans if a state decides to opt out (benefits include hospitalization, emergency care, pregnancy and newborn care, mental health and substance abuse treatment and more).
Please join the fight to oppose this bad bill that delivers for the wealthiest, while harming everyone else.
- Call your Senators at 877-607-0785. The number will use your zip code to connect you.
- Make sure to tell them who you are, where you’re from and to oppose the health care bill.
- Call back a second time to be routed to your other Senator.
Note: There’s potential for high call volume this week, so some calls may not be connected.
*Net worth compiled from 2014 public filing data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
**The excise tax – sometimes called the “Cadillac Tax” – is a 40 percent tax on insurers above a certain dollar limit on health insurance plans. We expect that this tax will be passed on to us.