Illinois: let’s organize and tell Gov. Rauner what we think about healthcare
Background
We can help protect the Affordable Care Act (ACA) right now from where we are in Illinois, if we organize and turn up the pressure on our governor to take a public position defending it. This is not as far-fetched as it might sound.
Organizing to defend the ACA now could actually make a difference in the short term, like, this year. Republican governors may be, ironically, our best hope. They can pressure their party in Congress, which controls both chambers, to take a more thoughtful approach. Already, governors from states like Ohio and Michigan have gone to Washington to make the case for protecting the Medicaid expansion and other provisions of the ACA. Gov. Kasich has called repealing the Medicaid expansion a “very, very bad idea”. We need to add Gov. Rauner to this group.
Illinois will lose billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs if the ACA is repealed. Gov. Rauner already has a fiscal mess of a state. ACA repeal is not an abstract political fight. It has real consequences for the state, to say nothing of the human toll it will exact.
Make Rauner or whomever his challenger is accountable to our position during the campaign. Let’s not wait for them to set the terms of the debate.
Let’s get everyone calling and letting the governor know what we think about the ACA. As we’ve seen from Congress in the past few weeks, hearing from constituents has a real impact. To that end, in addition to calling, we should encourage him to hold more public events: he needs to hear directly from us at town halls and photo ops.
Take action
It’s easy to call and register your opinion. Unlike Congress, where most phone lines are jammed these days, it’s pretty easy to get through to a staffer in the Governor’s office. He actually has two offices, one in Springfield and one in Chicago, so you can call both.
The phone number for Gov. Rauner’s Springfield office is 217–782–0244.
The phone number for Gov. Rauner’s Chicago office is 312–814–2121.
Sample script
You should use your own words and speak your own mind, but if you need a prompt, you can say something like:
Hi, my name is [YOUR NAME], I’m a constituent from [YOUR CITY/TOWN], and I would like to know what the governor’s position on the Affordable Care Act and the Medicaid expansion is.
{LISTEN TO RESPONSE FROM STAFFER}
Thank you. I don’t require a response, but I would like to let the governor know that I support the ACA and the Medicaid expansion, and would like him to stand up on behalf of Illinois residents and defend our health coverage with our congressional delegation.
One last question: will the governor commit to holding a town hall on healthcare to present his plans and hear from constituents?
{LISTEN TO RESPONSE FROM STAFFER}
Thank you for your time today.
Be kind! The staffers are public servants, and they are almost always very friendly and courteous.
Facts (if you need ‘em)
In Illinois, because of the ACA, 340,000 people gained coverage from the Medicaid expansion, and 335,000 did from the HealthCare.gov marketplace. Millions more have benefited from provisions in the law, such as the end to annual and lifetime limits, no discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, and being able to stay on your parent’s insurance until 26. [Source]
Repealing the ACA would mean that, in Illinois, 1,150,000 people would lose their health insurance (increasing the ranks of the uninsured by 128%), and 47,000 jobs would be lost. In addition, Illinois would stand to lose $4.2 billion in federal healthcare dollars. [Source]
More reading on the consequences of repeal:
And facts on what could be improved in the ACA:
