Coalition that Defeated Health Care Repeal Announces 48-Stop, 23-State Bus Tour
“Care Force One” Will Travel 11,303 Miles Across the Country, Engaging Americans from Coast to Coast in the Fight Against the GOP War on Health Care
Washington, D.C. – Today, Protect Our Care is announcing its first-ever nationwide bus tour. Kicking off in Bangor, Maine on September 24, the bus, “Care Force One,” will head west to Phoenix, Arizona before coming back east, concluding with an event in West Palm Beach, Florida on November 2. The bus will make 48 stops across 23 states, covering a total of 11,303 miles.
“Republicans in Congress, in states and in the White House have spent the past year and a half attacking our health care. Throughout this bus tour, Americans who are sick and tired of the Republican repeal-and-sabotage agenda will make it clear there’s no hiding from what they’ve done, try as they might, and that we want this war on our health care to end. Now,” said Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care.
The tour will highlight for the public that the Republican war on health care is very much alive, with Republican officials using legislation, regulations and the courts to continue their attacks on protections for the 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, for women and older Americans and on Medicaid and Medicare. Recently pro-repeal Republicans have claimed to support the protections for people with pre-existing conditions in the Affordable Care Act, even as they work to dismantle them.
The Republicans’ repeal-and-sabotage agenda over the past 18 months has included:
- Supporting legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which threatens protections for women, older adults and people with pre-existing conditions, as well as a whole host of provisions of tens of millions of Americans rely upon for their care and coverage;
- Pushing regulations that promote junk plans that can discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions and refuse coverage of essential health benefits, such as mental health care, emergency care and maternity care, driving up both risks and costs for consumers;
- Slashing funding for outreach and enrollment assistance, which experts predicted would lead to 1.1 million fewer people enrolled in the health insurance exchanges across the country and raise costs for those who do enroll;
- Filing a lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act; then, the Trump Administration made the shocking decision not to defend the Affordable Care Act and actually agree in part with the plaintiffs, arguing that protections for people with pre-existing conditions should be overturned,
- Gutting and obstructing the Medicaid expansion, which currently covers 15 million people and serves as a lifeline to rural communities from coast to coast, and
- Jeopardizing improvements to Medicare, including reduced costs for prescription drugs.
At local events across the country, the bus tour will demonstrate that Americans broadly oppose Republicans’ repeal-and-sabotage agenda, which has cut health care coverage dramatically and driven up costs for millions. For example, the Center for American Progress estimates that the Republicans’ tax bill and their junk plans regulations will cause health insurance premiums to be $3,110 higher next year for a typical family of four.
Check out when “Care Force One” is slated to come to you, with additional stops being added along the way. Check out protectourcare.org/bus-tour/ for the latest.
Bangor, ME on Monday, September 24, 2018
Portland, ME on Monday, September 24, 2018
Syracuse, NY on Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Binghamton, NY on Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Philadelphia, PA on Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Harrisburg, PA on Thursday, September 27, 2018
Pittsburgh, PA on Thursday, September 27, 2018
Cleveland, OH on Friday, September 28, 2018
Columbus, OH on Friday, September 28, 2018
Wheeling, WV on Monday, October 1, 2018
Charleston, WV on Monday, October 1, 2018
Cincinnati, OH on Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Indianapolis, IN on Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Lansing, MI on Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Grand Rapids, MI on Wednesday, October 3, 2018
South Bend, IN on Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Milwaukee, WI on Thursday, October 4, 2018
Green Bay, WI on Thursday, October 4, 2018
Madison, WI on Friday, October 5, 2018
Cedar Rapids, IA on Friday, October 5, 2018
Des Moines, IA on Monday, October 8, 2018
Minneapolis, MN on Monday, October 8, 2018
Fargo, ND on Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Minot, ND on Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Billings, MT on Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Butte, MT Thursday, October 11, 2018
Missoula, MT on Friday, October 12, 2018
Reno, NV on Monday, October 15, 2018
Las Vegas, NV on Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Phoenix, AZ on Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Tucson, AZ on Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Denver, CO on Friday, October 19, 2018
Kansas City, MO on Monday, October 22, 2018
Springfield, MO on Monday, October 22, 2018
St. Louis, MO on Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Memphis, TN on Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Nashville, TN on Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Richmond, VA on Thursday, October 25, 2018
Raleigh, NC on Thursday, October 25, 2018
Atlanta, GA on Friday, October 26, 2018
Miami, FL on Wednesday, October 31, 2018
West Palm, FL on Thursday, November 1, 2018
West Palm, FL on Friday, November 2, 2018