We find ourselves in a better place than we might have been when it comes to health care policy. Remaining ever vigilant and recognizing that there is still much work to be done, today should be marked by gratitude that efforts to take health care from millions have, in this moment, failed.
While Sen. John McCain’s vote was welcome and crucial, let’s not forget Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who have both been bullied for refusing to choose party over the well-being of their constituents and their country.
What happens next at the congressional level is unclear. While the President has spoken again of letting the ACA fail, there are short-term and long-term measures that can be put in place.
In your calls to Senators Tillis and Burr, please encourage them to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure that health care remains available and that access is expanded. As our friends at the Justice Center suggest:
While Senators Burr and Tillis both voted for repeal bills that would have left between 15 and 32 million Americans uninsured, it is now time for them to move beyond the repeal conversation and work across the aisle to stabilize insurance markets, make small fixes to the ACA, and improve our health care system.
Please also request that they use part of their August recess to hold public meetings with a cross-section of their constituents if they would like to know what North Carolinians want.
Senator Tillis can be reached at 202-224-6342, and Senator Burr’s number is 202-224-3154.
In addition, while calls to Senators outside of North Carolina might not influence how they vote, a call or email of thanks for their leadership could only be welcome. Contact information for Senators Collins, Murkowski, and McCain along with the 48 Democratic Senators and those who caucus with them can be found here.
Meanwhile, we can give thanks for the health care law that remains in place and for the lives that will be improved because of it.
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