'We Are Outraged': Thousands Of Faith Leaders Oppose GOP Health Care Bill

A contingent of over three,000 religion leaders launched a letter to individuals of the Senate on Monday urging them to vote towards Republican legislators’ newest try to repeal the Affordable Care Act. 

On Sunday night, Republican senators circulated a brand new model in their much-disputed regulation to repeal “Obamacare.” Like the preliminary draft of the invoice first presented through Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in past due July, the brand new proposal would decimate current federal well being systems, cut back executive spending, and probably depart tens of millions of Americans with out insurance coverage.

The new invoice, dubbed Graham-Cassidy, would additionally come with an competitive attack on protections for folks with pre-existing prerequisites, in addition to supply a cushion to offset the have an effect on of investment cuts in numerous states.

“It was a tremendous relief that Congress was working in an open, bipartisan way to improve our health care system,” wrote the religion leaders of their letter, referencing efforts through Republicans and Democrats over the past month to collaborate on a plan.

“But now, we are outraged that Congress would abandon these efforts for another partisan attempt that would take healthcare away from millions of our people.”

The letter garnered signatures from religion leaders in all 50 states. African Methodist Episcopal, Baha’i, Baptist, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Presbyterian, Sikh, Episcopal, Unitarian Universalist, and myriad different religion traditions are represented within the letter.

In addition to the weather of the brand new invoice that would narrow federal well being care spending and intestine Medicare, the religion leaders additionally recommended Congress to behave on two current well being care systems which can be up for extension.

The Children’s Health Insurance Program and Disproportionate Share Hospitals are each up for renewal on Sept. 30 ― a time limit some worry Congress would possibly pass over in the focal point on passing the Graham-Cassidy invoice. CHIP supplies cheap well being protection to youngsters whose households earn above the source of revenue bracket that might lead them to eligible for Medicaid. DSH gives price range to hospitals with a big percentage of uninsured and Medicare-insured sufferers. Hospitals in rural spaces could be specifically affected if DSH isn’t renewed.

Republicans hang 52 seats within the Senate and should win over their colleagues ahead of Saturday, when they’re going to lose parliamentary authority to cross a repeal with 50 votes as an alternative of the standard 60. GOP Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have indicated they’ll vote towards the invoice.

“To allow Graham-Cassidy to pass the Senate – and to allow the CHIP and DSH programs to lapse – is to allow the health of America’s most vulnerable people to face unnecessary and immoral obstacles,” wrote the religion leaders.

Several of the signers delivered the letter in particular person to the Senate forward of Monday’s finance committee assembly, which drew masses of protestors to Capitol Hill. Additional religion leaders coated up outdoor the listening to within the hope of having a seat within, ready in silent vigil with their non secular texts open on their laps, in step with a liberate.

“Once again, a group of white, male Senators have crafted a plan that is out of touch with the realities of millions of ordinary families and fails the moral tests of our faith,” stated Sister Simone Campbell, of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, in a observation.

The activist nun referred to as the proposal “immoral” and “reckless” and stated it could most probably maximum have an effect on “people struggling to get by, the sick, and the elderly—the very people Jesus teaches us to put first.”