Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed what it calls the American Health Care Act (AHCA) by a two-vote, 217-213, margin. Now, the U.S. Senate is reportedly determined to vote on its own bill in less than a month’s time by using an arcane procedure known as “Rule 14.” In short, this little-known rule allows the Senate to fast-track the bill to a floor vote after it is scored by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) without a single public committee hearing.

The Colorado Center on Law and Policy believes that Coloradans should have the opportunity to weigh in on any proposal that could make health insurance less available and more expensive for them.

Instead, by invoking Rule 14 Senate leaders are trying to push through a bill that would fundamentally alter our health care system with little to no transparency. That is unacceptable.

To add insult to injury, the Senate version is reportedly mirroring the AHCA’s framework in more ways than not. As we reported last month, the AHCA would drastically cut funding for Medicaid in Colorado by $15 billion over 10 years and raise out-of-pocket costs significantly, all the while providing hundreds of billions in tax breaks for the rich and corporations.

Coloradans need to let Senators Gardner and Bennet know they reject any process that prevents their voices from being heard, as well as any proposal that threatens the health coverage and economic security of hundreds of thousands of Coloradans.

Please join us in calling Senators Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet to work on a bipartisan solution that would make health care better, more affordable and available to all.

Sen. Cory Gardner: (202) 224-5941

Sen. Michael Bennet: (202) 224-5852

–Kristopher Grant