FREE
AUSTIN WEEKLY news ‘Dear White People,’ a nuanced success,
■
Vol. 31 No.19
■
May 3, 2017
■
austinweeklynews.com
■
Also serving Garfield Park
@AustinWeeklyChi
PAGE 5
@AustinWeeklyNews
Meet Chris Burton, Burton page 3
West Side leaders blast ‘Nothingcare’
The GOP’s plan to repeal and replace Obamacare draws ire of Congressman Davis, Jesse Jackson By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Several years ago, a sudden, “catastrophic” diagnosis of end-stage renal disease forced Monica Fox to stop working. “I spent three years on dialysis — three days, four hours at a time,” said Fox, who received a kidney transplant five months ago, a gift she attributed to the Affordable Care Act. Fox spoke at a May 5 press conference convened by U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (7th), Rev. Jesse Jackson and other lawmakers, healthcare providers and union officials one day after the House Republicans narrowly passed a bill designed to repeal and replace the ACA, popularly known as Obamacare. Fox and others who spoke at the press conference variously called the Republican plan “Trump-care,” “Trump-don’t-care” and “Nothing-care.” “The ACA made it possible for me to have the proper insurance I need,” said Fox, who lives in the south suburbs. “While I have been unable to work, I’m getting to the point of going back to work. If [the Republican plan] goes into effect, I will be faced with devastating news that i have a pre-existing condition that may not be covered by my employer’s insurance,” she said. “That’s disgusting and whoever thinks that’s a good idea is sick.” The Republican plan, which passed 217 to 213 on a party-line vote, now makes its way to the Senate, where many Democratic and Republican lawmakers, including Davis, believe it’s likely to either die from lack of support or be completely overhauled. The House bill that passed Thursday is the Republican Party’s second attempt to repeal and replace the ACA since President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Both attempts have generated considerable popular backlash. According to a Quinnipiac University Na-
MICHAEL ROMAIN/Editor
‘TRUMP-DONT-CARE’: Rev. Jesse Jackson, Congressman Danny K. Davis, state Rep. Camille Lilly and other lawmakers and community leaders during a press conference last Friday at Loretto Hospital in Austin. tional Poll released in March, voters in the U.S. oppose the GOP health plan by a 3 to 1 margin. “Disapproval of the Republican plan is 56 22 percent among men, 56 - 13 percent among women, 54 - 20 percent among white voters, 64 - 10 percent among non-white voters, 80 3 percent among Democrats, 58 - 14 percent
among independent voters and by margins of 2-1 or more in every age group,” reads a statement released by Quinnipiac in March. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the first version of the Republican bill, which failed to come to a vote, would take away health insurance from 24 million Americans within 10 years, cut fed-
eral funding of Planned Parenthood and it could spell the end of Medicaid expansion, a provision of the ACA which allowed millions of low-income Americans to receive health coverage, among other possible consequences. See OBAMACARE REPEAL on page 4
Austin Chamber of Commerce on the move... 773.854.5848 • www.austinchicagochamber.com