On July 29, 2017, more than 40 concerned citizens from across the Mohawk Valley rallied to bring awareness to the ongoing need to save the Affordable Care Act and improve our health care.
This local, peaceful rally was organized by Indivisible Mohawk Valley and co-sponsored by CNY Citizens in Action in solidarity with rallies across the nation in order to resist legislation that will hurt American citizens while working toward a healthcare system that will #CareForAll.
The GOP failed to pass a Senate bill early Friday morning to repeal the ACA and replace it with a poorly thought out plan that would have had significant, negative repercussions on the health insurance market and our ability to access care.
There is still a considerable amount of work to be done, however, to bring the US healthcare system up to par with the healthcare systems of other countries that guarantee universal, affordable healthcare coverage for all citizens.
While the ACA went part of the way to meet this goal, too many people are still either without health insurance or are burdened with costs that are too high relative to their income. We demand a bipartisan, transparent, and evidence-based approach to the development of a universal and affordable health care system.
In 1948, the US and many other countries signed the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and in so doing, agreed that healthcare is an inalienable human right. Other signatories have created some kind of universal healthcare program in the intervening years; but not the US. It’s way past time for us to join the civilized world and make good on our promises.
During the election campaign, we heard promises of universal, affordable health care from the current inhabitant of the White House, yet the GOP seems determined to going back to a system that would deny millions of people access to affordable care and gut protections for the most vulnerable members of our communities, by undoing the public protections woven into the ACA, slashing Medicare funding, and defunding Planned Parenthood. We deserve better.
Saturday’s rally drew constant approval from passersby. While participants expressed relief that the onslaught against our health care had been interrupted by the failure of the Senate vote, we renewed our commitment to supporting a bipartisan effort to improve the nation’s health care. Rally participants were most enthusiastic about instituting a universal single-payer “Medicare For All” healthcare system.
Indivisible Mohawk Valley and Central NY Citizens in Action are grassroots groups working to improve lives in the Mohawk Valley.
Websites: http://indivisiblemv.com/ and http://cnycia.org/