R
ich participated in the UU Inequality Conference in DC this week. The focus was on Healthcare inequality. He went to visit the offices of many senators on Capitol Hill (Ron Johnson R-WI, Tammy Baldwin D-WI, Dick Durbin D-IL, Angus King I-ME) and learned a ton about the lobbying process! See him talking with Michael Weiss, the Healthcare staffer supporting Ron Johnson, to share his team’s concerns about Healthcare inequality.
In general, the team had 3 “asks” of our senators:
- Fight for the ACA and don’t let it’s key wins go away. (It does need to improve)
- Fight for Medicaid expansion in the states and don’t put caps / block grants to the states
- Renew the CHIP program (Children’s Health Insurance Program) when it comes up for vote this September
On the way back he was sharing an Uber with some nice folks who had voted for our President. They were very conservative and felt strongly that the government should not force us to pay for something they didn’t want (health insurance). Rich listened intently and, after they had finished sharing, he said, “Thanks for providing me some perspective. One question, though. What would you do if the main breadwinner lost your job and got cancer. The other of you only works part-time with no insurance. How would you deal with your sickness then?”
They were silent.
Food for thought for many of our fellow Americans who our under the mistaken belief that we can do it all by ourselves. The fact is, these days, we are all networked and connected, and need to be connected with one another to be our best. That’s why healthcare for all makes sense because none of us knows when we might need it — it is NOT a want…it is a need!