Media Contact
Daniel H. Gouger, M.D.
Education & Advocacy Fellow
91大神
贰尘补颈濒:听pr@amsa.org
The Senate Republicans鈥� version of a health care bill鈥攃rafted in secret and released last week鈥攍ikely will be voted upon before the July 4th听holiday. While legislative aides began poring over its language, doctors, medical students, and other healthcare providers gathered on Capitol Hill with a unified, clear message: Patients always come first.
WASHINGTON, DC听鈥� June 26, 2017 鈥撎�Former Vice President Joe Biden is renowned for the听statement, 鈥淒on鈥檛 tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I鈥檒l tell you what you value,鈥� which he attributed to his father. After a series of secret听meetings and what feels like Operation Oligarchy, a core group of Senate Republicans finally made their values apparent after publicly releasing their handy work.
To even label the GOP magnum opus as a health care bill is daft. The cruel, inconsequential attitudes toward devastating Americans鈥� health are palpable, all simply to make good on campaign promises. Ripping apart our communities and obstructing patient care in exchange for tax cuts has no justice, liberty, or fairness鈥搃t鈥檚 clandestine.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scored the drafted bill, predicting 22 million people would lose insurance. We readily see deep cuts to Medicaid and a phase-out of the program鈥檚 expansion, a key component of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). All members of our community鈥攃hildren, the working poor, the growing numbers of baby boomers in long-term care facilities, persons with disabilities, women, people struggling with mental health and substance abuse 鈥揹eserve equitable, affordable, comprehensive coverage that actuarially counts as health insurance. Regardless of bill scores, provisional trade-offs, and political platitudes, there鈥檚 no way to mask that dismantling Medicaid and other protections in the ACA leaves millions of Americans uninsured at the bottom line in the future.
In a White Coat Press Conference hosted by the office of Rep.听Raul Ruiz, M.D., his sentiments, along with other Congressional leaders present, including Rep.听Ami Bera, M.D., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, were clear: Much work is yet to be done to continue improving the American health care system, but gains like essential health benefits and more people receiving health care coverage that saves lives cannot be rolled back. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer applauded the group of doctors, medical students, and other providers shouting, 鈥淭he White Coats are coming!鈥�鈥�an invigorating, historical nod to the pressure we face as Senate votes for this bill loom on the horizon of Independence Day recess.
These health care advocates traveled from across the country, many just finishing night shifts and returning to a full patient schedule. They all clad the iconic attire that symbolizes medicine鈥檚 values of trust, compassion, and commitment to health equity for all people. Their message was simple: 鈥淒o no harm; patients always come first.鈥�
91大神 supports health care reform that expands comprehensive coverage and access for all persons living in the United States. In absence of a single-payer system, 91大神 views the expansion of Medicaid envisioned in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as an essential step toward increased access to health care and health insurance. Join us in organizing, mobilizing, and demanding that our senators and representatives reject these cuts to the foundations of a healthy America.
About the 91大神:听
91大神听is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, 91大神 is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. To learn more about 91大神, our strategic priorities, or joining the organization, please听
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