Dear Friend,
While Senate leaders may have delayed the vote, they are continuing to push their healthcare repeal bill that causes millions to lose health insurance, raises costs for middle-class families, decimates Medicaid and guts protections for women and seniors. We should be working together to give people better coverage at lower cost, not forcing them to pay more for less.
But this is about more than numbers. It’s about people.
This reckless proposal will have a devastating effect on families across the country, including in the First District, by stripping protections for our most vulnerable. Like Sammy, who at just the age of two, has already received more than $500,000 in medical care for his Severe Hemophilia A. When I met him and his mother in their Snohomish home, she told me all they want is for their son to be able to play, learn and grow — but without his expensive daily medication regimen, that wouldn’t be possible. Allowing providers to once again put lifetime caps on care would be taking our country backward, not forward, and would force families like Sammy’s to face bankruptcy or forego the care their loved ones need to survive.
Or Colton, a 17-year-old from Mill Creek, who has been battling cancer for seven years. His mother told me, “He will always have a ‘pre-existing condition’ that demands high quality healthcare and to think that could go away for him and many like him is criminal. The Affordable Care Act isn’t perfect, but the groundwork that was laid is working for many and we simply need to sit down and figure out how to make changes to it so it works for more Americans."
I couldn’t agree more, which is why I’m fighting for Sammy and Colton and the millions of Americans who are terrified by what this bill could mean for them. Healthcare is not a privilege reserved for those fortunate enough to be born wealthy or healthy. It is a human right, and it’s worth fighting for.
As always, my office is here to serve you. If you have questions or comments about the topics that matter most to you, I encourage you to contact me through my website. You may also keep up-to-date on what I’m doing by following me on social media. If you need assistance dealing with a federal agency, such as the VA, IRS or Social Security Administration, please do not hesitate to contact my Bothell office at (425) 485-0085.
Sincerely,
Suzan
