Workers Declare Failure of GOP Healthcare Bill a ‘Triumph,’ Reaffirm Commitment to Protecting Quality, Affordable Healthcare for All

July 28, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Workers Declare Failure of GOP Healthcare Bill a ‘Triumph,’ Reaffirm Commitment to Protecting Quality, Affordable Healthcare for All

Boston, MA (July 28, 2017) – In response to the vote on Senate Republicans’ healthcare bill, Tyrék D. Lee, Sr., Executive Vice President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, issued the following statement:

“The failure of the Republican Senate and President Trump to rob healthcare from millions of hardworking Americans is a triumph for healthcare workers and our allies who joined together to stop this disgraceful bill. Throughout our collective action, our message was clear – working people won’t let extremist politicians get away with jeopardizing millions of lives and sabotaging the healthcare and good jobs we count on.

We knew that no amount of secret deal-making could have improved the overwhelmingly unpopular Republican healthcare repeal that would have increased costs, weakened protections for people with pre-existing conditions and ripped healthcare away from millions of people. Here in Massachusetts, the decimation of Medicaid would have meant cuts to skilled nursing and home care, increased financial strain for hospitals and almost certainly threats to continuity of care for our state’s most vulnerable residents.

And we know this fight is not over. Republicans and the Trump Administration have proven they will not rest until they have stripped millions of Americans of healthcare and given those dollars to corporations and the country’s wealthiest individuals. Those of us who oppose that cruel prescription for healthcare – workers, consumers, providers, advocates and leaders like our Congressional Delegation and Governor Baker – cannot rest. We must continue our fight for a bipartisan solution that keeps what works and improves what doesn’t in order to provide quality, affordable healthcare for all who live in America.”

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Representing more than 56,000 healthcare workers throughout Massachusetts and over 400,000 workers across the East Coast, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. Our mission is to achieve affordable, high quality healthcare for all. 1199SEIU is part of the 2.1 million member Service Employees International Union.