Life
Feeling frustrated beyond words about the House passing the American Health Care Act yesterday? Girl, same. If you’ve run out of four-letter feelings to give, let these quotes about why health care is a right, not a privilege speak more eloquently on your behalf. Share them on Facebook. Send out a well-worded tweetstorm. Then, write them on a postcard and send them to your congressional representatives.
If you’re looking for ways to protest the GOP’s health care bill, start by letting your House Representatives and your Senators know you’re watching. Want to take action right now from the comfort of your own internet? Donate to Democrats who are challenging Republican seats in upcoming elections. Let the 217 House Republicans who voted for this bill stripping millions of Americans of affordable health care coverage know they will not be receiving your vote come reelection. Send a message to all of Congress by showing them where you stand on health care. To be clear, where you should stand is on the side of the American people whose lives are at stake.
Make no mistake: If this bill becomes law, it will cost lives. Ask the countless people who will classify as a pre-existing condition. Ask the 24 million people who will be uninsured in the next 10 years. Ask the children with disabilities whose special education funding will suffer from the bill’s cuts to Medicaid.
The United States is the only major country without universal health care. If you’re looking for a reason why that matters, here are 15.
1
“Disease, sickness, and old age touch every family. Tragedy doesn't ask who you voted for. Health care is a basic human right.”
2
“ ‘Has access to’ does not mean that they are guaranteed health care. I have access to buying a $10 million home. I don’t have the money to do that.”
— Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on the importance of affordable health care, not just access to health care.
3
“They have put people’s lives in jeopardy… People will die if this becomes law of the land.”
— Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe in reaction to the House passing the AHCA
4
“African-American women die much more frequently from heart disease-related issues. You want to know why? Because we don't have the same access. That's why making sure that affordable care is available to all women is my priority.”
5
“It is unconscionable that Congress might restrict vital health care for the very people they represent.”
— David Stacy, Government Affairs Director for the Human Rights Campaign
6
“In the United States, providers charge whatever they think they can get away with, and they can get away with a lot, because it’s really difficult to put a price on, like, not dying.”
— Author, educator, and YouTuber John Green on why health care is so expensive in the United States.
7
“Shame on any Veteran who voted today to raise taxes on as many as 8 million fellow Veterans and make it harder for them to afford healthcare”
8
"If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make. I think that’s something that whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?"
— Jimmy Kimmel, speaking about his newborn son’s heart defect and the need for affordable health care.
9
“Any of us can wake up tomorrow with a pre-existing condition. Trumpcare lets insurers jack up your premiums and after 5 years it's game over.”
10
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhumane.”
11
“At its core [the AHCA] is nothing more than a shallow attempt to pass a tax cut for the very wealthy at the expense of the most vulnerable and voiceless in our society.”
12
“I remember looking around that emergency room and thinking — what about the parents who aren’t that lucky? What about the parents who get hit with a bill of $20,000 or $30,000 and they’ve got no idea how to pay for it? What about those parents whose kids have a chronic illness like asthma and have to keep on going back to the emergency room because they don't have a regular doctor, and the bills never stop coming? Who is going to stand up for them?”
— Former President Barack Obama speaking about his experience as a parent taking his child to the hospital.
13
“No parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their child’s life. It just shouldn’t happen. Not here.”
14
“If I could have 10 minutes with President Trump, I could help him understand what we do, why it’s important… If he understood, he would protect it, because this isn’t Republicans and Democrats. It’s just kids.”
— Vickie Glenn, a Medicaid coordinator for Special Education in Illinois
15
“In the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one should go broke just because they get sick.”
