PROTECT OUR CARE WEEKLY WRAP-UP [ February 25- March 4, 2017 ]

PROTECT OUR CARE ** WEEKLY WRAP-UP ** [ February 25- March 4, 2017 ]

“First It's Repeal And Delay; Now It's Repeal and Hide” Late Wednesday evening, Bloomberg unveiled that House Republicans had placed a supposed ACA “replacement plan” literally under lock and key in a room in the Capitol’s basement. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), were angry that House leadership were blocking the public and other lawmakers from reading it and tried in vain on Thursday to access the “plan”. It’s no wonder Republicans are trying to rush forward with their secret plan - after the latest polling and the town halls - they know how bad their plan is and that people will reject it. There needs to be an open and transparent process with opportunities for input, hearings, and a CBO score before the first vote is cast.

MUST WATCH: Senator Rand Paul on Morning Joe: “You know, when I read that it was being kept in a secure location, in a secret room and only members of the committee could read it, hmmm, I became suspicious and it made me want to read it more. We should all read it.”

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), calling the effort to keep the document from the public “unacceptable.”

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is denied entry to Room H-157, the supposed location of the “secret bill”

Veteran reporters noted the “bizarre,” unprecedented process employed by House Republicans

Coverage Highlights: ● Mischief In The Capitol As GOP Rebels Stir Up Trouble Associated Press // March 3 // Erica Werner ● WATCH: Rand Paul: I Won’t Be Told ‘Take It Or Leave It’ On GOP Obamacare Bill MSNBC // March 2 // For The Record With Greta ● We Won’t Know What’s In The Republican Health-Care Repeal Plan Until They Pass It Washington Post // March 3 // Topher Spiro ● “We Cannot Find The Bill": Inside The Frantic Hunt For The GOP Obamacare Replacement Vox // March 2 // Sarah Kliff ● ‘Secret’ Obamacare Plan Leads Lawmakers On Hunt Across Capitol Bloomberg // March 2 // Billy House, Anna Edney, Arit John ● New Obamacare Replacement Bill Is Being Hidden In A Basement, Out Of View Of Public, And Even This GOP Senator Can't See It CNBC // March 2 // Dan Mangan, Bertha Coombs ● G.O.P. Accused Of Playing ‘Hide-and-Seek’ With Obamacare Replacement Bill New York Times // March 2 // Robert Pear ● Rand Paul, A Copy Machine And A ‘Secret’ Obamacare Bill Washington Post // March 2 // Amber Phillips ● Find The Bill? Sen. Rand Paul, House Democrats Scour The Capitol For GOP's Secret Obamacare Replacement LA Times // March 2 // Lisa Mascaro ● GOP, Dem Foes Of Health Care Bill in Scavenger Hunt For Copy AP // March 2 // Alan Fram ● Rand Paul Creates Storm Over Access To ObamaCare Draft Bill

The Hill // March 2 // Jessie Hellman, Peter Sullivan

Republican Governors Work On Separate Plan From House Republicans A number of Republican governors are working on a separate health care plan that does not yet have broad agreement even among Republican governors. Importantly, House Republicans’ plans do not bear any resemblance to the rumored proposal by GOP Governors. The proposal involves funding Medicaid expansion while using restrictive per capita caps or block grants. Like Republican proposals in the past, per capita caps and block grants are another way for Republicans to limit care to vulnerable populations to pay for tax cuts.

Reading From A Teleprompter Is Not Complicated. Health Care Is. This week, the President learned something everyday people have always known: health care is complicated. On Tuesday, the President delivered a speech to a Joint Session of Congress. He laid out a few principles he would like to see in an effort to unite Republicans on a health care replacement plan. However, not even a day after the speech, Republicans began publicly arguing over what proposals the President actually endorsed proving they are are just as divided and confused as ever when it comes to health care.

Coverage Highlights: ● Republicans Fight Over What Trump Meant On Obamacare Politico // March 1 // Seung Min Kim, Rachael Blade ● Republican Unity On Health Care Is Elusive, Despite Trump’s Support New York Times // March 1 // Robert Pear ● Trump’s Words On Obamacare Stir Up Intraparty Feud Washington Post // March 1 // Mike DeBonis, Kelsey Snell ● Trump Speech Leaves Congress Hanging Politico // March 2 // Josh Dawsey, Rachael Bade, Burgess Everett ● Tax Credits Inflame Internal Fight Over Leaked GOP Obamacare Repeal Draft Talking Points Memo // March 1 // Tierney Sneed ● Trump’s Softer Tone Masks Hard Road Ahead For Agenda In Congress Bloomberg // March 1 // Justin Sink

Study: GOP Tax Proposals Would Raise Costs For Current Enrollees And Working- And Middle Class Older People This week, the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation released a study finding that GOP tax proposals would raise costs for current enrollees and working- and middle class older people alike.

The GOP tax credit proposals would cut premium financial assistance for current enrollees by more than one-third, and as much as half, and would worsen over time. According to the study, “Current enrollees would receive an average tax credit under the House Discussion Draft of $2,957 in 2020, or 36% less than under the ACA, and under the Price bill would receive an average of $2,256 in 2020, or 51% less than under the ACA...Based on CBO’s projections of ACA tax credit increases and inflation, the disparity between the average credits under the ACA and the two replacement plans would widen over time. The average tax credit current marketplace enrollees would receive under the House Discussion Draft would be 41 percent lower than under the ACA in 2022 and 44 percent lower in 2027; the average Price bill tax credit would be 56 percent lower than the ACA in 2022 and 60 percent lower in 2027."

In context, a typical 40-year old making $20,000 would lose at least $1,000 in financial assistance under GOP proposals compared to the ACA, and cover less of the cost of his / her premium. A 60-year old making $20,000 would pay $5,874 more under GOP proposals than under the ACA.

Must Watch: John Oliver’s Take On GOP Replacement “Plans”

Last weekend, comedian John Oliver offered a scathing takedown of GOP replacement “plans.” Watch here if you haven’t seen it yet:

New TV Ads Launch in Key States The Alliance for Healthcare Security, a coalition of nurses, caregivers, patients and healthcare advocates, released today a new set of television and digital ads calling out Congress for proposing to slash Medicaid, which would hurt children, people with disabilities, hard-working families, seniors and nursing home and home care patients across the country. The digital and television ads are the latest in the Alliance for Healthcare Security’s campaign and will air in Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Nevada, West Virginia and Washington D.C.

Watch the ad here.

In a new MoveOn.org Civic Action video ad, Buckeye resident Michele Justice offers a searing, personal appeal to Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, urging them not to take away her health care by repealing the Affordable Care Act. Justice, who was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm in 1998, says that before the ACA she could only get health insurance coverage “from the neck down.”

Watch the ads: [NEW] Michele Justice of Arizona; Spiff Chambers of Alaska; Pat Washburn of Maine; Alyce Ornella of Maine; Aisha Crossley of Nevada; Heather Francis of Pennsylvania

This Week’s Local Coverage Highlights: ● In Kentucky, A Trump Stronghold, Many Fear Losing Obamacare ABC News // February 27 // Gloria Riveiera, Ashley Louszko, Emily Taguchi, Lauren Effron

● Lifelong Illness Could Create Chronic Problems If Lifetime Caps Return The Tennessean // March 2 // Holly Fletcher ● [Rep.] DesJarlais 'Missing,' Protesters Say Murfreesboro Post // March 1 // Sam Stockard ● Policy Expert Says "The Sick And The Poor" Are Most Likely To Be Affected By Changes To Obamacare Reno Public Radio // March 1 // Anh Gray ● Op-Ed: Nevada Depends On Affordable Care Act Reno Gazette-Journal // March 1 // Chuck Duarte ● Boos, Cheers, Questions At Boisterous McSally Town Hall Arizona Range News // March 1 // David Rookhuyzen ● Sandoval: Heller Talking About Preventing Medicaid Rollback From Happening The Nevada Independent // February 28 // Jon Ralston ● Letter To The Editor: Cancer Patients Need ACA To Stay Las Vegas Sun // March 1 // Pamela Witzel ● Repeal Of Health Care Law Could Force Tough Decisions For Arizona's Medicaid Program Arizona Public Radio // March 1 // Will Stone ● 8 People Who Owe Their Lives To Obamacare Mother Jones // February 27 // Becca Andrews, Kiera Butler

Report from the Road: Save My Care Bus Takes on Recess With 39 events, 18 states, and more than 12,600 miles behind it, the Save My Care bus tour is entering the home stretch of its cross-country tour to tell the stories of the 30 million Americans who will lose their health care under Congressional Republicans' dangerous repeal plan.

It's been a busy week and a half for the crew with stops in Georgia, Florida and Kansas. And, they've covered nearly every inch of Tennessee: protesting outside of Sens. Corker and Alexander's offices in Nashville, providing live music at rallies in Knoxville, rallying with Chattanooga health advocates and helping Memphis residents demand that Congress save their care.

Next week, they’ll take on both of the Carolinas.

Below are news clips from this week and the recess period: National: Morning Joe, Vox, Politico, Roll Call Georgia: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, NBC Atlanta, NPR Atlanta, Georgia Health News Tennessee: The Tennessean, The Tennessean, Fox Nashville, Fox Nashville, Fox Nashville, ABC Nashville, Knoxville News Sentinel, CBS Memphis, NBC Memphis, ABC Memphis, Knoxville News Sentinel, ABC Knoxville, NBC Chattanooga, CBS Chattanooga Florida: Capitol News Service Ohio: Akron Beacon Journal