CHN on health care repeal vote: ‘They responded to the facts. They served the national interest.’

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July 28, 2017

Editor’s note: The following statement was issued by CHN Executive Director Deborah Weinstein Friday in response to the Senate’s rejection of the health care repeal bill.
Senators Collins, McCain and Murkowski deserve our profound thanks, along with the entire Democratic Caucus. They voted in the interests of their constituents; they responded to the facts; they served the national interest.

Also deserving of our profound thanks are the American people – people who poured out at events all over the country, who told their heartbreaking stories about the necessity of health care to members of Congress who would listen – and to the public and the press, if they would not. They stopped a very great harm. And we are grateful for, and indebted to, the many organizations providing the analysis and advocacy tools that made everyone’s work pay off.

One thing we learned during this painful, lengthy process was the importance of coming together and discussing the key role Medicaid fills in the fabric of American life and in ensuring the health of nearly one-fifth of all Americans. It is clear that people understand that millions of our children, families, seniors, and people with disabilities depend on Medicaid, and that the drastic cuts proposed were a significant reason why the repeal legislation was rejected.

Of course we are mindful that the threat to Medicaid persists. There are those in Congress who would impose hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to the program, as well as straitjacketing it so that Medicaid could no longer respond to health crises such as opioids or viral epidemics or the next economic downturn. We will take the lessons learned during this most recent fight and apply them to the next, as we anticipate the budget battles to come.

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