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What’s Next after Passage of the Tax Bill?

December 20, 2017

PHAN strongly opposed the tax bill that achieved final passage in both the House & Senate over the last two days. Although we’re disappointed by the actions of our lawmakers, we don’t plan to stop fighting for access to healthcare now, and neither should you!

First, let’s take a moment to remember how far we’ve come. 

Last fall, we thought that the ACA would be repealed by the beginning of this year.  Instead, it remains the law of the land and has reached an all-time high approval rating.  We’ve won multiple battles to protect Medicaid and the ACA.  While this is a setback, it’s only one in a series of successes.

It’s also important to note that our efforts to defeat this bill and to raise the alarm about the consequences for our healthcare system weren’t for nothing. We may not have succeeded, but we certainly educated many across PA – and the nation- about the harms of this bill.

Second, here’s our plan for moving forward:

  1. Keep pressure up on lawmakers about CHIP and community health centers.  While lawmakers have pursued a tax cut for the wealthiest, these programs that serve a combined 36 million Americans remain unfunded.  Call your Representative in the House TODAY and let them know they must extend CHIP & health center funding before the year ends.
  2. We’re building a new campaign.  To fund their tax cut for the wealthiest, lawmakers have explicitly stated their intentions to make cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and other critical programs. PHAN is already hard at work planning a new campaign to protect Medicaid & Medicare.  We’ll build on our successes in 2017 and come back stronger in 2018.  Stay tuned for an invitation to a strategy call early next year, and make sure you’ve signed the petition to say “Hands Off Medicaid & Medicare!”

So, don’t despair.  We can still fight back attacks on our health together.  Join us in 2018.