WASHINGTON, DC – June 21, 2017 – (HISPANICIZE WIRE) – Today, the National Council of La Raza Action Fund (NCLRAF) announced their Senate campaign to Protect and Defend Health Care for Latinos. NCLRAF will be urging Latinos voters to call their Senator to vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to protect healthcare for millions of Latinos and seniors.
The Trumpcare bill to repeal the ACA could be voted on by the Senate as early as this week. If the proposed bill becomes law, 23 million Americans could lose their health insurance by 2026, including millions of Latinos and seniors. Health insurance costs for seniors could jump from $1,700 to $14,600 per year under the current bill. In addition, over $800 billion in total spending would be cut from the Medicaid program over the next ten years. Over 70 million Americans get coverage through Medicaid, including 18 million Latinos.
“Latino families cannot afford to lose their health insurance. Under the Affordable Care Act, over 4 million Latinos have gained coverage and greater access to health care. A vote for Trumpcare is a vote to kick millions of Americans off their health insurance to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. Our community is calling on their Senators to represent their needs by voting against Trumpcare. We should be moving forward and building upon our progress, not going backwards and undermining it,” said Rafael Collazo, the NCLRAF’s Political Director.
NCLRAF’s campaign will target five Senators in five states who are critical to the debate and have significant Latino populations. Those members are Senator Jeff Flake (Arizona), Senator Dean Heller (Nevada), Senator Cory Gardner (Colorado), Senator Patrick Toomey (Pennsylvania) and Senator Rob Portman (Ohio). The campaign will include digital and radio advertisements, sponsored advertisement on social media and a patch-through call campaign.
The campaign’s purpose is to mobilize Latino voters to call their Senators urging them to vote against the Trumpcare bill. The campaign will reach approximately 969,800 eligible Latino voters in the five targeted states.
The National Council of La Raza Action Fund (NCLR Action Fund) is a Latino advocacy organization that works to expand the influence and political power of the Latino community through civic engagement and issue-based campaigns.