Healthcare vote

We the people have been granted a reprieve with the delay in the Senate healthcare vote. After the July 4th recess, the Senate’s vote will affect the most vulnerable among us.

We all know the dire findings from the Congressional Budget Office; that 22 million Americans will in time lose their health insurance with this forsaken plan.

Those with preexisting conditions, women and cancer survivors alike will see their premiums rise exponentially. Deep cuts to Medicaid will hurt the poor and disabled. Veterans will lose vital coverage. Seniors will suffer unconscionably.

The image of disabled protesters being pulled from their wheelchairs and arrested at the Capitol is etched in our minds. Ten Republican Senators may vote against this heartless bill. But Senators such as Marco Rubio, who support this healthcare bill, need to be reminded of the words from Mahatma Gandhi: “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”

This story was originally published July 3, 2017 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Healthcare vote."