As we
wrote on Tuesday, the Senate is considering a very dangerous healthcare bill: the so-called
Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization Act (HIMMA, S.1955) a.k.a. the "Enzi Bill." This bill would
jeopardize the healthcare of 85 million Americans by overriding existing state laws that guarantee coverage of crucial services health care services.
As part of the wide front of opposition forming against this bill, 41 state attorneys general signed a letter opposing it. Now Enzi backers are striking back, attacking the state attorneys general for doing their job--protecting your healthcare. If your state AG signed this letter, s/he needs your support! More on the flip.
In their letter, the state AGs wrote:
Consumers rightfully expect their state government to require a minimum of health benefit protections and to protect them from abuse by health care insurers. Elimination of strong health protections in exchange for weak federal oversight fails consumers.
The National Federation of Independent Businesses issued a press release on Tuesday attacking the state attorneys general for opposing the bill, sending an "error-filled letter" and "misleading" legislators. The accompanying letter sent to the AGs goes on to make the same discredited arguments about Enzi we've heard before. A thorough debunking of these arguments, courtesy of the National Partnership for Women and Families, can be found here. In addition, we are hearing that these attorneys general are coming under great pressure from conservatives in their states to withdraw from the letter opposing Enzi.
Do you live in one of these states?
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
If so, your state AG signed this letter, and s/he needs your support! Take a minute to call your AG and thank him/her for opposing the Enzi bill. You can go to the National Association of Attorneys General's website to get your AG's contact info (thanks to Alegre for the tip), or use Congress.org to find your AGs contact info.
Finally, thanks to all who called their Senators yesterday. Thanks in no small part to you, we have a very successful call-in day. If you haven't called, there's still time--1-800-828-0498. We expect a vote next Tuesday, so call now!
UPDATE: Yesterday, during our national call-in day, we generated over 13,000 calls opposing the Enzi bill. Keep those calls coming!