Attendees: Chuck Bensonhaver, Barbara Burgess, Leigh Cobb, Inger Fyfe, Elise Haderer, Isabel Kottak, Eileen Rice, Gary Rice, Diane Widdus The opening discussion was about how difficult it is to keep motivated with Trump disasters happening almost every day There are currently…

Trump has rescinded the subsidies to help lower-income enrollees of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) pay for their health insurance. This has resulted in uncertainty in the insurance market and an increase in premiums. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) and Patty Murray (D-Washington) have submitted a bill to continue subsidies for two years to stabilize the insurance market and allow time to find a good solution for health care.

Contact Senator Graham and Scott and express your opposition to the
Graham-Cassidy Bill. Graham is one of the primary sponsors. Let him know his constituents are against this legislation.

Leigh Cobb, Inger Fyfe and I had a conference call conversation on July 24, 2017, with Kate Hunter, who is the healthcare specialist on Senator Tim Scott’s staff. The call lasted for 35 minutes.

We had a lively discussion, first bemoaning the worst features of the new Republican bill but grateful that at least they don’t have the votes to pass it yet. Many people were concerned about the poor responsiveness and lack of dialogue to our calls and emails. Barbara’s letter to the editor has been published; she suggested writing another letter about the issue of poor response.