Take a moment to see Nicole’s story. Then sign up to show your support for Wendy.
If Greg Abbott thinks that Ted Nugent is an accurate representation of Texas values, he is sadly out-of-touch.
Wendy is the right choice for the women and families of Texas. Thank
you for everything you’re doing to support her in this campaign.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Connor
Deputy Campaign Manager, Finance
Wendy R. Davis for Governor, Inc.
Remember that old health care law, the Affordable Care Act, that conservatives used to spend all their time disparaging? They’ve stopped talking about it and it’s media coverage has dropped, but there’s (even) more good news to report. Some pieces are going up, other pieces are going down, but it all means one thing: the Affordable Care Act is working.
DOWN: Hospital costs. A report released yesterday by the Department of Health and Human Services revealed that hospitals will save $5.7 billion in uncompensated care costs — money spent by hospitals on people who go to the emergency room and are unable to pay their bills. In particular, states that have opted to expand Medicaid through the ACA are benefiting the most: $4.2 billion of these savings, or 74 percent, come in states that expanded their Medicaid programs. Meanwhile, conservative leaders in 21 states have refused to expand, a move that is crippling hospitals in their states who aren’t benefiting from these savings.
UP: Number of insurers in the marketplace. HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a speech earlier this week that people looking to get health insurance on federal and state exchanges will have 25 percent more insurers to choose from than they did during last year’s open enrollment period. In some states, the number of insurers is doubling from 2014. Insurance companies are having more and more faith in the ACA marketplaces to attract customers, and they want a piece of the action. More competition is great news, both for people looking for more health insurance choices, and for premiums, which are…
DOWN: Premiums. Earlier this month, Kaiser Family Foundation released a study that shows health insurance premium rates across 15 states and DC would actually fall in 2015. As the chart below shows, the average premium change for those with the second-lowest-cost silver insurance plans (a typical plan) is -0.8 percent.
CREDIT: KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATIONKaiser concluded that this was due to increased competition in the marketplace and more people signing up for insurance through the exchanges in 2015. Even for those states in which premiums are rising, it is important to remember that given how fast premiums were rising before the ACA, in context many of these increases don’t actually look like increases.
BOTTOM LINE: The Affordable Care Act is working. With costs down for both hospitals and consumers, more competition, and not to mention 7.3 million people who are covered as a result of the law’s passage, it’s clear the law is already a success, whether conservatives want to talk about it or not.
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There’s a lot to be excited about this year –
Tami Green is running for State Senate in the 28th District
Click here and say:
I’m with Tami
We have a great opportunity to unseat one of the most conservative voices in the State Senate.
In his one year in office, State Senator Steve O’Ban has led efforts to allow businesses to deny services to gays and lesbians.
He’s worked to allow insurance companies to deny coverage for basic services, like mammograms, diabetes, and autism screenings.
Our state needs leaders who will move our state forward.
Rep. Tami Green has been representing the 28th District for 10 years. She has a strong record of accomplishment in the 28th District, and she is challenging Steve O’Ban for State Senate.
Will you sign our petition and show your support for Tami Green for State Senate?
Tami Green is a trusted nurse and legislative leader known for her integrity, courage, and willingness to bring people together.
In her 10 years in the Legislature, Tami has earned a strong reputation as an experienced leader who is focused on results.
She is a strong advocate for the values we share. She’s worked to strengthen the middle class, protect our environment, expand access to health care, and protect a woman’s right to choose.
With Republicans in power in the State Senate, we haven’t gotten the results that will help Washington’s working families.
This year, the Republican State Senate majority refused to compromise and failed to pass a Transportation or Capitol Budget. This has killed jobs and hurt our middle class.
Steve O’Ban was in step with the State Senate majority the entire way.
We need to elect leaders who are willing to come to the table, get to work, and do what’s best for our communities and working families.
We need Tami Green in the State Senate. Join us now and sign on as a supporter today.
In solidarity,
Jaxon Ravens
Washington State Democrats Chair
As November approaches, Georgia finds itself home to a toss-up Senate race between Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican David Perdue. With such a competitive race, voters are registering at a higher rate than usual and county election boards are taking steps to expand access to the polls. America has one of the worst turnout rates of any developed country in the world, so you’d like to think that everybody would be cheering this news. But some Republican officials are worried that these measures are resulting in the increased participation of minority voters, and that that fact could spell trouble for their own candidates.
Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp is one of these officials. Think Progress’s Josh Israel reports on new audio released by progressive voting rights organization Better Georgia that captures Kemp sharing his frustration over it’s grassroots effort to register minority voters for the election. Here’s an excerpt from the tape:
Democrats are working hard, and all these stories about them, you know, registering all these minority voters that are out there and others that are sitting on the sidelines, if they can do that, they can win these elections in November.
Using the power of his position, Kemp plans to fight back. On Tuesday, Kemp launched a “voter fraud” investigation into the voter registration effort, which he says he suspects may have “forged voter registration applications, forged signatures on releases, and applications with false or inaccurate information.” (As a reminder, the problem of voter fraud is essentially non-existent.)
Kemp is not the only one feeling threatened. Just the day before he launched his investigation, another Republican, state senator Fran Millar, complained that voting is too convenient for black people. One of Georgia’s largest counties announced last week that it will allow early voting on a Sunday in late October and will open an early voting location in a shopping mall popular among local African-Americans. Millar penned an angry response, explaining that “this location is dominated by African American shoppers and it is near several large African American mega churches such as New Birth Missionary Baptist.” When asked to stand by his comments, Millar only got more offensive, writing in a Facebook post, “I would prefer more educated voters than a greater increase in the number of voters.”
BOTTOM LINE: Expanding voting access by increasing opportunities to vote and increasing voter registration is something that deserves to be celebrated in our democracy. Instead, some officials in Georgia, feeling threatened by what might happen if more people exercise their constitutional right, resort to name calling and launching specious investigations that are more likely intended for voter suppression than anything else.
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