Quick Action
To pay for tax cuts for corporations and the rich, the Senate tax plan will slash Medicaid and Medicare funding and repeal the ACA individual mandate, likely leading to a collapse of the health care markets. Call Sen. Collins and tell her to vote NO on any tax bill that cuts health care to fund tax cuts to the rich.
Health Care, Reproductive Rights & Disability Rights Working Group and Indivisible C2A
THE ISSUE
The Senate’s “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” would significantly curtail access to health care for many Americans to offset the cost of steep tax cuts to the wealthiest 1%. This latest chapter in the Trump Tax Scam eliminates the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, which experts say will lead to fewer healthy individuals in the marketplace, devastating the health care market for everyone. The move will increase the number of uninsured by 4 million in two years, and 13 million in 2027, and increase insurance premiums by 10% per year. The Maine Center for Economic Policy estimates that 15,000 Maine families will lose insurance by next year and another 50,000 by 2027. Premium hikes will hit seniors the hardest: a 60-year-old in Washington County who pays $2,062 in 2018 will pay $3,118 in 2027. As if all of that weren’t bad enough, the plan would add so much to the deficit that it would trigger $25 billion in Medicare cuts, and it includes language that gives fetuses access to college savings funds, a first step in the GOP’s “personhood” agenda intended to pave the way toward outlawing abortion.
THE ACTION
- Call and email Susan Collins (202-224-2523) and demand that she publicly oppose the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and vote NO when it comes to the Senate floor after Thanksgiving.
- Call and email Angus King (202-224-5344) to thank him for his vocal opposition to the GOP tax plans, and ask him to keep fighting to protect our health care and middle class families.
- Share this map with your friends and family in Maine so they can see the impact on the county they live in.
TALKING POINTS
- Senator Collins has expressed “concerns” with the impact a repeal of the individual mandate will have on healthcare premiums. Ask for her pledge to vote NO on any legislation that includes this repeal.
- Trump’s budget director has indicated the administration would remove the repeal of the ACA individual mandate “if politically necessary.” Make sure Collins understands that removing the repeal is, indeed, necessary.
- Four million Americans–including 15,000 Mainers–will lose their insurance next year if the individual mandate is repealed and health care premiums will rise by 10% per year over the next decade.
- The bill will increase the deficit by $1.5 trillion, triggering mandatory budget cuts. The CBO estimates that Medicare funding would shrink by $25 billion as a result. Cuts to Medicaid are also likely.
Suit Up Maine is an independent, all-volunteer grassroots progressive group that seeks to build a more informed and engaged electorate in Maine. Founded in 2016, Suit Up Maine is run by and for Mainers, and is not engaged in fundraising of any kind. Representing thousands of constituents across Maine’s 16 counties, Suit Up Maine raises awareness of and advocates for policies and legislation that promote equity and equality in civil rights, social justice, health care, the environment, education, the economy, and other areas that affect the lives of all people. Suit Up Maine is beholden to issues and action, not parties or politicians.
