action-alerts-v3-01 Thursday, Sept. 21 ISSUE: It’s now or never. Senate Republicans have just over a week to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and the devastating Graham-Cassidy proposal is gaining steam, even though it will do exactly what previous repeal bills would have done: strip health care from millions; end protections for pre-existing conditions; allow insurers to refuse coverage for essential health benefits like prescription drugs, hospitalization, lab work, contraceptives, and reproductive health; and decimate Medicaid, on which over 40% of people living with HIV rely to stay healthy. It’s likely that this latest version of TrumpCare would take away coverage from tens of millions of Americans (estimated to be over 32 million). But Republicans are not waiting to find out. They are pushing for a vote next week, hoping we have our attention focused elsewhere. GET THE FACTS: TAKE ACTION! We don’t have a moment to spare. Here are just a few actions you can take over the next few days. Please do as many of them as you can! Bonus points for taking photos of yourself in action and sending them to [email protected] or tagging us on Twitter (@uspwn) so that we can share to mobilize more advocates!
  1. TODAY AND EVERY DAY:
    1. Call the HIV Hotline at 866-246-9371 today and every day to be connected with a Republican Member of Congress. Ask if they are supporting or opposing the Graham-Cassidy bill. Sample scripts and more background info are available at PWN’s #KillTheBill Graham-Cassidy Resource Center.
      1. If they are opposing, thank them for their opposition and ask them to continue protecting our health care.
      2. If they are supporting or are undecided, urge them to vote NO on this bill, which will take health coverage and essential protections away from tens of millions of Americans.
    2. Join us and our partners TODAY to learn more about the bill and how we can mobilize against it! Register for a 4 PM EDT/1 PM PDT webinar hosted by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago here. Register for a 5:30 PM EDT/2:30 PM PDT call: Defeating Graham-Cassidy in Your District hosted by PWN-USA (following the AFC webinar) here.
  2. NEXT MONDAY, Sept 25, host an event at your Senator’s home district office at 2pm, during the Senate Finance Committee hearing on the Graham-Cassidy bill. You can find some local events being planned here and even more here. If there’s no event already planned, organize a speak-out with local advocates who will be affected by the bill, and get media there. We can help.
  3. NEXT TUESDAY, Sept. 26, is National HIV Call-In Day! Let’s get 5000 advocates to make calls to the HIV Hotline (866-246-9371) next Tuesday. Here are some tips on organizing a phone bank from our partners at the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance. PWN-USA Colorado is doing a “phone tree,” with each member asking 5 friends to make 10 calls to their Senator between now and Sept. 30, and each of those friends asking 5 more. They were able to generate 48 calls to Senator Gardner in a single day that way!
  4. EVERY DAY: Get the word out on social media! Do a Facebook Live where you tell all your Facebook friends why you are opposed to the Graham-Cassidy bill and what you plan to do about it. You can even Facebook Live yourself calling your Senators! Post photos of yourself taking action (even if it’s just making a phone call) with a description of what you’re doing and why. Share over social media, tag your Senators, and send to [email protected] (or tag @uspwn on Twitter or Facebook) and we will amplify! We also have plenty of sample posts, sample tweets, twitter handles for target Senators and shareable graphics in our #KillTheBill Graham-Cassidy Resource Center.