Please Contact Your Senators Regarding The Harmful Effects Of Capping Medicaid
It is being widely reported that the United States Senate, next week, will vote on its version of a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.  While the proposed bill has not yet been released, it is believed that the bill will contain a provision capping the federal portion of Medicaid.  Capping Medicaid would have a serious detrimental effect on Misericordia and on all individuals with developmental disabilities across the country who rely on Medicaid to cover the cost of the services they need.  Medicaid payments are already way too low, especially in Illinois.  If the federal share of Medicaid is capped, the gap between what the state pays and what it costs to provide services will grow even wider. It will become increasingly difficult for Misericordia to provide its outstanding services. For other providers across the country, it will become impossible.
 
As a result, we are asking our families and friends to contact their Senators to ask them to vote AGAINST the any bill that proposes to cap Medicaid. There are two very easy ways to communicate with your Senators. It will only take a few minutes. The Senate will vote sometime next week. Therefore, please contact your Senators as soon as possible.
Also, please forward this message to family and friends across Illinois and especially in other states throughout the country. Because this is a national issue, their voices matter as well. (If you have already entered them in our Friends & Family Advocacy list we will send this email directly to them).

Also, you can click on the social network icons at the top of this email  to share this with your friends there.


Below is a step-by-step guide on how to use each tool.
This Tool is for Smart Phones (e.g., iPhone, Android, etc.)
  1. If you have used the Resistbot tool before, text "Start" to 50409 to reactivate your account.  If you have not used the Resistbot tool before Text "Resist" to 50409
  2. If you have not used Resistbot before, you will be prompted to text your name and your zip code. This will allow the program to identify your Senators and Congressman
  3. You will then be prompted to enter your message one sentence at a time. Here is the message we propose you send: "My [son, daughter, sister, brother], [name of resident], is developmentally disabled and lives at Misericordia in Chicago. Misericordia's services are funded by Medicaid. The cap on the federal funding of Medicaid that is proposed in the American Health Care Act, will have a devastating effect on Misericordia and on [name of resident]. I am asking you to please vote AGAINST the American Health Care Act so that my [son, daughter, sister, brother] can continue to receive the care [he, she] needs."
  4. When you are done, the tool will prepare a letter to your Senators and it will ask you to confirm the message you want to send.
  5. After you confirm your message, you will receive a confirmation that a fax of your letter has been sent.
  6. This tool contacts your senators first and the next day it will ask you to repeat your message for your congressman.  Because the upcoming vote is only in the Senate, you do not need to contact your congressman at this time.
  7. When you have completed contacting your senators, if you continue to receive text messages from this tool, simply respond "Stop" and you will no longer receive texts.
 
For Those Who Do Not Have A Smart Phone
  1. Dial the Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121
  2. Ask for your Senators (you will need to make two separate calls to the above number) - In Illinois your senators are Sen. Richard Durbin and Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
  3. Leave the following message: My name is ________ and I live in your state. My [son, daughter, sister, brother], [name of resident], is developmentally disabled and lives at Misericordia in Chicago. Misericordia provides residential and vocational services to over 600 people like [name of resident]. Misericordia's services are funded by Medicaid. The cap on the federal funding of Medicaid that is proposed in the American Health Care Act, will have a devastating effect on Misericordia and on [name of resident]. I am asking you to please vote AGAINST the American Health Care Act so that my [son, daughter, sister, brother] can continue to receive the care [he, she] needs.
Thanks for your attention to this very important matter.

Sister Rosemary Connelly

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