Hello Readers of PAWSM (Post-Ascendency of White Supremacy & Misogyny) Dispatches!
This is a quick note on the aptly-named American HealthCare Act (ACHA rhymes with gotcha) recently concocted by the #1 collaborator and quisling Paul Ryan. Yes, that’s right, a healthcare act that will cause 15 to 20 million people to lose their health insurance, make health insurance more expensive for less coverage, permanently restrict the Medicaid program, and, oh yeah, throw in a few tax breaks for the very rich. What could be more American?
Or as Gail Collins puts it: “This offers us our annual opportunity to recall when Janis Joplin sang that freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” Gail continues:
“The Republican replacement bill is very big on freedom.
There’s freedom for wealthier Americans not to pay taxes that help subsidize health insurance for their low-income fellow citizens. Freedom for those who can afford coverage to refuse to buy it. Freedom for insurance companies to hike their prices for middle-aged customers. Freedom for the states to stop providing Medicaid-backed health insurance for maternity care, when nearly half of all the births in the country are currently covered by Medicaid.
It gives power back to the insurance companies to discriminate against women’s health care, which is more expensive, obviously,” said Senator Patty Murray of Washington.
Our new health and human services secretary, Tom Price, is very big on the freedom of doctor-patient relations. Price, a surgeon, talks constantly about keeping the government from stepping in the middle. (“You need to know that what your doctor is recommending for you is exactly what he or she believes is right for you based upon education and science, not based upon what Washington is telling them he or she must do.”)
Unless, of course, the doctor and patient are deciding whether or not she wants to terminate a pregnancy.
The Obamacare repeal bill makes it much less attractive for insurance companies to cover abortions in their policies, and includes a ban on federal funds for Planned Parenthood. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/09/opinion/getting-freedom-from-health.html
More Misogyny in Action and the War on Women continues brought to you by the American HealthCare Act.
PLEASE scroll down to check out the important resource below Public-Health-Awakened: ACA Myths and Facts , distributed by Spirit of 1848, the extremely progressive list-serve of an APHA membership interest group. This will give you everything you need to know to understand and speak against ACHA. The threat to Medicaid is terrible and terrifying.
Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 1:21 AM To: Nancy Krieger <nkrieger@hsph.harvard.edu> Cc: Spirit of 1848 <spiritof1848@yahoogroups.com> Subject: Re: [spiritof1848] a new document from Public-Health-Awakened: ACA Myths and Facts + Link (1 page resource sheet, available on-line)
“Debunking ACA Myths” — here is the web version to share: http://bit.ly/ACAmythsandfacts.
The fact sheet briefly responds to the myths and lies being told about the ACA to justify its repeal. It can help you engage with elected officials to spread the truth about how the ACA has helped millions of Americans live healthier lives.
For more content, we also released the ACA Info Brief (http://bit.ly/ACAinfobrief) last month, which details the impacts of dismantling the ACA.
Use the hashtag #PublicHealthAwakened when posting on social media about these resources! (Also, sorry the google doc is not as jazzy looking as the PDF. The PDF will be available on Public Health Awakened website as soon as it goes live.)
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