http://cysticfibrosis.com/make-friends-with-your-legislators/
The above link helps you find your senators.
This just in from one of our members:
The Senate bill is being written behind closed doors. There will be no public debates. No public forum. No bi-partisan approach. They are determined to finish writing the bill this month, send it off to be scored by the CBO, and then voted on before July 4. There will be almost no time for people to look at the bill and debate its merits. They will vote as soon as they can. This will be very similar to the approach used in the House. Unfortunately, the bill will also look very much like the bill that came out of the House. According to our national policy team, the bill will fail to provide access to high-quality, specialized care that is affordable, adequate, and accessible to the CF community as a whole.
Can you commit to CALLING and emailing your Senatorsevery day in the next week to tell them your CF story? The phone script is attached to this email to help guide your calls. The phone number is (202) 517-8215. Can you commit to calling every day this coming week? What about the following week too? We have 14 business days before July 4!
If each of you made a call once a day for a week, that is 35 calls from our advocates alone going into the Senators offices. The key here is that these calls log up staffers time and resources, and force the Senators to take note of what their constituents are saying. I would also encourage you to ask friends, family, colleagues, etc. to make calls on your behalf as well and then we are increasing our efforts even more.
If you support your Senator generally but they are in favor of this bill, or any bill proposed that does not provide adequate, affordable, and available coverage to people with CF, it’s ok that you respectfully disagree on this issue. Urge them to represent your interest in Washington and vote “no” on the AHCA or any bill that doesn’t meet our community’s needs.
Example:
Hello, my name is [your name here] and I am a constituent of the Senator. I am calling in opposition to the House-passed version of the American Health Care Act.
[I/my loved one has/had] cystic fibrosis (or “CF”), which is a life-threatening genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections, often leading to respiratory failure. More than 30,000 people have CF in the United States and there is no known cure.
I can tell you firsthand that people with cystic fibrosis need access to high-quality, specialized care and adequate, affordable health insurance. The legislation passed by the House fails to protect our community.
The AHCA allows states to loosen protections for people with pre-existing conditions, effectively eliminates Medicaid expansion and alters Medicaid's funding structure in a way that would reduce access to care and treatments.
The legislation also doesn’t support people with CF who need to purchase their own health insurance, will likely cause young people with CF to shoulder more of the cost for their plan, and will allow insurers to offer inadequate plans on the insurance exchanges.
Once again, I urge the Senator to consider the critical role health coverage plays in enabling people with
CF to lead longer and healthier lives and oppose the American Health Care Act.
Thank you for your time.
The above link helps you find your senators.
This just in from one of our members:
The Senate bill is being written behind closed doors. There will be no public debates. No public forum. No bi-partisan approach. They are determined to finish writing the bill this month, send it off to be scored by the CBO, and then voted on before July 4. There will be almost no time for people to look at the bill and debate its merits. They will vote as soon as they can. This will be very similar to the approach used in the House. Unfortunately, the bill will also look very much like the bill that came out of the House. According to our national policy team, the bill will fail to provide access to high-quality, specialized care that is affordable, adequate, and accessible to the CF community as a whole.
Can you commit to CALLING and emailing your Senatorsevery day in the next week to tell them your CF story? The phone script is attached to this email to help guide your calls. The phone number is (202) 517-8215. Can you commit to calling every day this coming week? What about the following week too? We have 14 business days before July 4!
If each of you made a call once a day for a week, that is 35 calls from our advocates alone going into the Senators offices. The key here is that these calls log up staffers time and resources, and force the Senators to take note of what their constituents are saying. I would also encourage you to ask friends, family, colleagues, etc. to make calls on your behalf as well and then we are increasing our efforts even more.
If you support your Senator generally but they are in favor of this bill, or any bill proposed that does not provide adequate, affordable, and available coverage to people with CF, it’s ok that you respectfully disagree on this issue. Urge them to represent your interest in Washington and vote “no” on the AHCA or any bill that doesn’t meet our community’s needs.
Example:
Hello, my name is [your name here] and I am a constituent of the Senator. I am calling in opposition to the House-passed version of the American Health Care Act.
[I/my loved one has/had] cystic fibrosis (or “CF”), which is a life-threatening genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections, often leading to respiratory failure. More than 30,000 people have CF in the United States and there is no known cure.
I can tell you firsthand that people with cystic fibrosis need access to high-quality, specialized care and adequate, affordable health insurance. The legislation passed by the House fails to protect our community.
The AHCA allows states to loosen protections for people with pre-existing conditions, effectively eliminates Medicaid expansion and alters Medicaid's funding structure in a way that would reduce access to care and treatments.
The legislation also doesn’t support people with CF who need to purchase their own health insurance, will likely cause young people with CF to shoulder more of the cost for their plan, and will allow insurers to offer inadequate plans on the insurance exchanges.
Once again, I urge the Senator to consider the critical role health coverage plays in enabling people with
CF to lead longer and healthier lives and oppose the American Health Care Act.
Thank you for your time.
