As the vote to pass the Graham-Cassidy health care bill looms ahead, politicians and activists are urging Americans to contact their senators to vote no. I thought it was crucial to make my voice heard in the fight against the Graham-Cassidy bill.
Healthcare reform is an issue that every American should get behind. As many as one in two Americans have a pre-existing medical condition. If you don’t have one, likely someone you know does. I know this issue hits home for me because my 13-year-old brother has Type 1 diabetes, a pre-existing medical condition. He was diagnosed with it at nine years old. He has been hospitalized for his illness several times, his insulin without insurance would cost hundreds of dollars per month.
This bill does not adequately protect people with preexisting conditions. It eliminates Medicaid expansion in states and instead gives them a lump sum of money that they can choose how to spend.
Over a dozen major medical groups oppose this bill. The American Medical Association said that they can not support it because it violates doctors’ oath to “first do no harm.” The American Diabetes Association said, “The Senate’s proposed healthcare bill would lead to more expensive insurance & worse coverage for people with diabetes.”
The first step to helping fight the Graham-Cassidy bill is to look up who your state senators are and their phone numbers. I’m from Pennsylvania. My senators are Bob Casey (D-PA) and Pat Toomey (R-PA). The voting records of these two could not be more different from each other reflecting the complex nature of politics in PA. Our two major cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburg are very democratic, as are their surrounding counties but the rest of the state is very red. Pennsylvania is a state that elected Obama in ‘08 and ‘12 and then Trump in ‘16.
Senator Casey has taken to Twitter to aggressively condemn the Graham-Cassidy bill.
I called his office in Philadelphia and immediately got through to say, “Hi, I’m calling to thank Senator Bob Casey for agreeing to vote no on the Graham-Cassidy bill.”
Then, I tried to reach Senator Toomey who has remained silent on this issue. However, he went viral earlier this year for comparing people with pre-existing medical conditions to burnt-down houses. Like his other GOP colleagues, Toomey has stated that he is committed to repealing and replacing Obamacare.
Here’s a summary of what happened when I tried to reach him:
First, I called his Philadelphia office. I heard, “Your call is very important to Senator Toomey. The staff is currently assisting other constituents. Please hold...Your call is being transferred...We’re sorry that we are unable to take your call at this time. Please leave your name and number...Sorry you can not leave a message now because this mailbox is full.”
I was also prompted to contact him on his website. There, I was asked to give my first and last name, street address and email address and write a message.
Next, I called the office for Allentown/Lehigh Valley and was told I had the wrong number.
The D.C, Erie, Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg, and Johnstown offices were all busy. The D.C and Erie offices told me that they were experiencing extremely high call volume. The Harrisburg office didn’t even offer a message to me, only a busy tone.
The Pittsburgh office was the only one that allowed me to speak to an actual person on the phone. I said, “Hi, I’m calling to ask Senator Pat Toomey to vote no on the Graham-Cassidy health care bill.” I got a, “Thank you, I will let the senator know,” from an assistant.
Busy phone lines signify a good and bad thing. The good lies in the fact that it demonstrates that plenty of other people across my state are fired up about the Graham-Cassidy health care bill and are making their voices heard. It also casts a spotlight on another issue – that my senator along with his colleagues employ a very small number of people to answer phone lines. In addition to answering the phones, they are tasked with other responsibilities like giving tours.
A senator’s job is pure and simple: to represent their constituents to the best of their ability. Listening to our voices should be a priority not an afterthought.
Despite the frustrations that come with contacting a senator, our voices are more important now than ever before. Getting through to them is challenging to say the least but contacting them is simple. We owe it to ourselves to demand quality, affordable health care in this country. We owe it to children like my brother who are too young to fight for themselves or fully grasp the complexity of the American political system to fight for them.