plan of action - july 7, 2017

Health Care - Opioid Crisis


The opioid addiction epidemic has reached crisis proportions, and the number of overdose deaths has climbed higher than the number of lives lost to traffic accidents. Many addicts rely on Medicaid to provide treatment, and the GOP bill proposes to cut back Medicaid. Most of the swing senators come from states with a high death rate from overdose, and these senators are very concerned about the fate of their constituents should Medicaid be undermined. West Virginia has the largest Medicaid population in the country, and Senator Shelley Moore Capito has said, “I have studied the draft legislation and CBO analysis to understand its impact on West Virginians. As drafted, this bill will not ensure access to affordable health care in West Virginia, does not do enough to combat the opioid epidemic that is devastating my state, cuts traditional Medicaid too deeply, and harms rural health care providers.”

Rural voters were key to Trump’s victory, but they would be the big losers in the GOP bill.

Action:
Pick two actions:

1. Contact one of the swing senators by whichever means you choose and express your concern about the effect of cuts on the opioid crisis. If you have any personal experiences, please include them.
2. Contact your own senators with the same message.
3. Publish information about the opioid crisis on social media
4. Contact the White House to complain about Trump betraying his supporters and reneging on his campaign promises about healthcare.

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