Thousands attend Sanders health care rally in Michigan
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Thousands of people endured freezing temperatures at the rally in Warren, where Sen. Bernie Sanders called on Americans to resist Republican efforts to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law. The rally was one of a number of rallies Democrats staged across the country to highlight opposition to the repeal efforts.
WARREN, Mich. >> Thousands of people showed up in freezing temperatures on Sunday in Michigan where Sen. Bernie Sanders called on Americans to resist Republican efforts to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law, one of a number of rallies Democrats staged across the country to highlight opposition.
People lined up four abreast to get to the rally in the parking lot of Macomb County Community College in the Detroit suburb of Warren. Labor unions were a strong presence and people also carried signs including “Save our Health Care,” and “Michigan Stands.”
Lisa Bible, 45, of Bancroft, Michigan, came to show support for the law. She said that she has an auto immune disease and high cholesterol. She says the existing law has been an answer to her and her husband’s prayers, but she worries that if it’s repealed her family may get stuck with her medical bills.
“I’m going to get really sick and my life will be at risk,” she said.
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to overturn and replace the Affordable Care Act and majority Republicans in Congress this week began the process of repealing it using a budget maneuver that requires a bare majority in the Senate.
“This is the wealthiest country in the history of the world. It is time we got our national priorities right,” Sanders told the rally.
He has been one of the strongest advocates for the law, which has delivered health coverage to about 20 million people but is saddled with problems such as rapidly rising premiums and large co-payments.
Sanders made several visits to the state last year during the Michigan primary and defeated Hillary Clinton in the state. But in a major surprise, Michigan narrowly voted for Trump on Nov. 8, the first Republican presidential candidate to carry the state since 1988.
Mark Heller, 45, a civil rights, immigration and labor attorney who drove to the rally from Toledo, Ohio, said that stopping Republicans from repealing the law may take more than attending rallies.
“I think that it’s going to take civil disobedience to turn this around because they have the votes in both the Senate and the House, and the president,” he said.
The health law has provided subsidies and Medicaid coverage for millions who don’t get insurance at work. It has required insurers to cover certain services such as family planning and people who are already ill, and has placed limits on the amount that the sick and elderly can be billed for health care.
Republicans want to end the fines that enforce the requirement that many individuals buy coverage and that larger companies provide it to workers. They’d like to expand health savings accounts, erase the taxes Obama’s law imposed on higher-income people and the health care industry, eliminate the subsidies that help people buy policies and pare back its Medicaid expansion.
But they face internal disagreements on how to pay for any replacement and how to protect consumers and insurers during a long phase-in of an alternative.
33 responses to “Thousands attend Sanders health care rally in Michigan”
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The Un- ACA belongs to the Democrats! For now this is their baby!
What the Republicans are Going to do is “Repeal & Replace”….. This will then become “Their Baby”.
The Republican’s Replacement will be in effect simultaneously with the Repeal. Get it? This is what everyone is supposed to be doing,including Bernie Sanders and the Democrats making Health Care Affordable for EVERYONE!! Why is this Soooo Hard for the Liberals to understand? They are trying to Save you money and keep your Health Insurance! So what’s up with that people?
Not sure what Colonel Sanders is doing……or maybe I do?
This is nothing more than an effortless grandstanding of Political gain, to get ready for his 2020 campaign. Using and taking advantage of these poor,cold,uniformed,innocent people.Terrifying them w/this kind of Garbage!
Hey Bernie? Listen-up!
Stop The Civil Disobedience and The Divide! Mr. Sanders,you’re NOT Helping Bro! Really you’re not!
Sanders will probably be dead by 2020. LOL
I have a suspicion Dr. HitLAIRy Clinton might help him with legally assisted suicide if he even lives to see the next election.
Will the republicans replace though? That is the question Moi and if so what will they replace it with. Hopefully they will replace it with a single pay system which the Donald has supported in the past.
http://ijr.com/2016/02/537107-5-times-donald-trump-praised-socialized-healthcare/
I saw Brian at a rally at the state Capital today and I plan on writing him asking him in supporting the Donald in pushing a single pay system. Nixon care cannot be as efficient as a single pay system.
Boots, don’t be so oppugnant.
He’s a Socialist who ran as a Democrat. No surprise he bought in to Putin hacking the DNC. He was the operative who leaked Podesta’s password.
Leaked it to Putin while Donald was being leaked on by Olga…Video shows they were at the same “party”…#MAGA
Now we see Brian Schatz. Obama’s “Peace Prize Ambassador @ the State Capitol? Also leading the Charge of Civil Disobedience & Divide. He’s terrifying the People with his falsehood and lies. And his supporters are biting his Palu “Hook Line and Sinker”. Is it me or what? Has the Democrat Party become ……… a Cult?
“He’s terrifying the people with his falsehood and lies”? “Has the democratic party become a cult”? That seems like a more accurate description of trump and his followers. Have you seen his rallies? Reminds me of jim jones.
There’s not much the public or the Dems can do, thanks to the Democrats using the “nuclear option” to pass healthcare, without one Republican vote. You live by the sword, you die by the sword.
Republicans continue to prove to the public that they want to kill universal health care by privatizing it.
Save Medicare and Obamacare.
“More free stuff! More free stuff!” they cry at Sanders rallies.
Black lives matter means they better find a job or starve under Trump.
I thought it was the White people who were suffering…#MAGA
“Crazy Bernie” along with the other dems & libs just can’t get over it. Instead of offering to collaborate to come up with a reasonable replacement, all they can do is “resist”. It’ll be interesting to see how many more dems will lose seats in DC in 2017. They’re making total fools of themselves along with their brainwashed followers.
What exactly do you think mitch mcconnell and other republicans did for the last 8 years? They vowed to not cooperate with obama in anything he tried to do, and thus became the “party of no.” Despite record low approval ratings, they have stayed in power, partly due to gerrymandering of their voting districts.
…. The Democrats ruled along side Obama for the first 4 years. remember?It was only after his failed 1st term the Democrats began dropping like flies,and thus The Republicans regained control… the latter part of 4 years. The people simply got fed up with the inept Democrats and Yes! Both parties are to blame & Both parties shared a record Low approval rating. No body cooperated with each other.SAD
You should be asking how many republicans will be losing seats. For two years they will be in total control of the government. You better hope that the stock market is at 25000, unemployment is under 4% and the economy is growing. Sad to say it is probably more likely the stock market will be under 15000, unemployment close to 10% and the economy is shrinking, If this happens you republicans will be up a creek without a paddle. lol
At least Obama can point to a lot of positive things. Republicans haven’t done anything positive since Eisenhower.
Boots, I don’t see the problem. When you have glut and over population it’s time to thin out the heard. Only jobs going to be lost are the 40+ million illegals that have taken jobs away from legal residents and legitimate US citizens.
Wall St resets the market valuations roughly every decade when growth and income become stagnant. But I don’t expect someone with a pea-brain like yours to understand basic fundamentals in life on this planet that nothing goes up forever. If you truly believe that, I’ve got some great real estate I can sell to you.
If Trump can claim that he is responsible for Dow 20,000 then why can’t someone disclaim it by aiming for 15,000. Using your reasoning then Boots is right. Wall Street’s last crash was 2008 and we’re in the year 2017. Geez, talk about a pot calling the kettle black. Do you even understand what Boots is trying to say instead of trying to show off your limited understanding of “basic fundamental in life” BS.
Fiscal, I completely understood boots but YOU don’t seem to understand basic fundamentals of Wall St. or our economy in general. I want the economy to reset as it’s gone up too long and too much on borrowed time and money. Nothing goes up forever irrespective of president. Investors want growth, income and profits. Once they top off and become fairly stagnant as they already have, Wall St. elite will reset the sky high valuations because non performing assets are not good for the economy or the elites’ wallets in their little rat race to the top of the Forbes 400 list.
Secondly, the Fed has been printing money like there’s no tomorrow devaluing our currency. At some point just like the ERS liabilities you MUST CUT THE FAT in the economy to bring order and control in the economy by firing the unneeded workers. Guess which workers get sacked first! The very ones we never needed to begin with and mainly the illegals!
IRT Boots: You are 100% wrong, Republicans have brought us ALL so much comedy and laughter…The gift that keeps on giving, hopefully for 8 more years…#MAGA
lol, you are right. The Donald has been very entertaining, But now he has to perform in the real world, not make believe. I suspect the Donald will be gone in 2 years either because he died in office or is impeached due to his conflicts of interests which are too many and extreme even for republicans. Or maybe he will be just like sweet Sara and just quit.
“You better hope that the Stock Market is at 25000”? Didn’t see you “hoping” for 25000 under Odummy.
Keep resisting Democrats, remember what the Republicans taught you guys the last 8 years…and do it better!!! Then 8 years from now, I can tell the Republicans the same…Just so funny…#MAGA
Bernie Sanders, the person who was supposed to be president.
@ postmanx
Crooked Corrupt Nasty hiLIARy said…
“Not on my time!”
Sanders was fun to listen to, but his schtick got old real fast. If he’d been the nominee Trump would’ve won by a huge margin; he’d have got more votes too, giving him a real mandate.
Bernie was NEVER going to win the nomination. The DNC saw to that. But, he’s still useful to the Dems. to whip up support for Obamacare even though it’s on life support. IF the Dems. wanted to save Obamacare they should have explored ways to save the taxpayers money,offer better plans with affordable premiums and co-pays, given us better choices as well as removing the individual mandate. But noooooo….no, no, no. They passed it and never looked back–congratulated themselves and each other— even as their constituents pleaded for relief. Lock. Them. Up.
Bernie never had a chance. He did much better than expected.
But Clinton went easy on him. She never went negative and tried to keep the campaign discussion on important social issues.
I think Bernie did the best that he could do and Clinton helped him do that. She had every reason to. She needed his voters to support her.
OTOH Bernie might have easily crumbled if he had tried to campaign against all the negativity of the general campaign. I think that Biden might have gotten more votes than he did – despite Biden’s penchant for gaffs that have destroyed his past campaigns.
Hope that Republicans get the word… messing with health care, medicare, social security is bad bad business….
Hope the public stomps on Paul Ryan’s car. He deserves it.
Obama’s failed policies. Don’t blame Trump. He’s trying to fix what’s broken.
Baloney…. Obama has the basic points in the law that make the program sustainable. What the Republicans can do is to follow through and pass law that will improve Obamacare.
For example, a needed feature is the need for a common patient database for patients. Doctors would no longer need to keep their own patient records and billing records. It could be paperless and done online. Congress needs to pass this law. It will greatly reduce costs.
Repealing the Affordable Care Act would result in 32 million Americans losing their health insurance by 2026, according to an analysis published 1/17/17 by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation.
The CBO also calculated that in the first new plan year after enactment of the Republican’s 2015 bill to repeal the ACA, premiums for those in the individual market would rise by 20-25 percent,