Terrible news for seniors

I’ll cut to the chase—Trumpcare is a disastrous health care proposal.

Republicans have put their wealthy friends ahead of the health and safety of Americans, and I will do everything I can to stop this bill before it wrecks our economy and Americans’ health and lives.

Here’s what you need to know about Trumpcare:

• It harms Medicare. Trumpcare repeals the Medicare payroll taxes paid by the wealthiest. It robs Medicare of the funding it needs to make good on the Medicare promise of guaranteed health benefits. Repealing this and another special tax break for the wealthy amounts to a $275 billion tax cut for only the wealthiest.

• It’s terrible for seniors. Trumpcare forces older Americans to pay 5 times the amount younger Americans will—an age tax—and slashes Medicaid benefits for nursing home care that two out of three Americans in nursing homes rely on. Senior and patient advocates like AARP and physician and healthcare worker groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Nurses Association strongly oppose Trumpcare.

• It hurts women and their families. Trumpcare guts Medicaid, eliminates funding for Planned Parenthood, and decimates coverage of family planning services, including contraception.

• It makes health care for rural Americans even harder to get. Hospitals and rural health clinics may need to close due to restricted funding, hurting families who already struggle to receive health care.

I believe that health care is a human right—not a luxury for the wealthy. How could anyone stand by this disastrous plan and say it’s a good idea?

Republicans are trying to railroad Trumpcare through, but I will be fighting tooth and nail in the Senate to prevent this dangerous proposal from replacing the Affordable Care Act and ending the reforms we fought so hard to achieve.

So many lives depend on it—and they depend on you standing with me.

Ron