Advocacy Alert: Tax Bill and Healthcare

Submitted by Elisabeth on Fri, 12/01/2017 - 2:08pm
From our community partner, Pisgah Legal Services:
 
In what is being termed the "sneaky repeal," the U.S. Senate is set to vote on a tax bill that will repeal the individual mandate under the Affordable Care Act. A vote is expected as early as TONIGHT! 
 
The Senate tax bill is another effort to pull apart the ACA. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that at least 13 million people will lose health care coverage if the mandate-- the requirement that all people have health insurance or pay a tax penalty, unless exempt-- is repealed. The result will not simply be people opting out of coverage on their own terms, but millions being priced out of coverage because of a spike in costs for monthly premiums. This bill also threatens Medicaid and Medicare.
 
Pisgah Legal Services knows how important quality, affordable health care coverage and services are for the families that we serve in our mountain region, but we also recognize that premium increases are difficult for families who do not qualify for financial assistance under the ACA. The CBO estimates that premiums will increase 10% or more if the individual mandate is repealed, making them more expensive for everyone. For families who need and rely on health care services, this is unacceptable.
 

Take Action

Repealing the ACA is not Congress' only option.

Please take action today and call Senators Tillis and Burr at 202-224-3121. Ask them to vote "No" on a bill that will rip health care away from so many families here in North Carolina and across the country. Ask them to support bi-partisan efforts to stabilize the marketplace and to do this INSTEAD of repealing the individual mandate.