Donald Trump tried to force a vote on a wildly unpopular bill that would have left millions without health care and gutted essential coverage requirements for everything from emergency room visits to maternity care.
The bill couldn’t pass because the majority of voters believe instead that government should work to guarantee health care for all – 60 percent according to a January Pew survey. That’s the vision the Affordable Care Act led with, and that’s why it’s still the law today.
Guaranteeing health care for all is about recognizing that some things are more important than insurance company profits. Because when someone gets sick and can’t get treatment, we’re all at risk. When a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, we want to see them cared for. When a neighbor is forced into bankruptcy to pay for astronomical medical bills, our community suffers. And when, as inevitably happens, we’re faced with an unexpected emergency we want to know that our insurance company will cover it.
Across New York, thousands of people stood up to defeat this bill at town halls, raucous protests and by overloading Congressional phone lines. And tomorrow, we’ll continue fighting for health care for all.
While Trump and Congressional Republicans continue to do everything they can to help the rich get richer, our leaders in New York State need to protect working families. They can start next week by expanding the millionaire’s’ tax, which will boost the economy, start to reverse runaway inequality, help cover federal cuts and make our communities stronger.