Nevada Lawmakers, Activists Hold Phone Bank Urging Senator Heller to Protect Medicaid Expansion, Vote No on GOP’s Secret Health Care Repeal

CARSON CITY, Nev., June 20 -- The Nevada Democratic Party issued the following news release:

Today, Democratic state lawmakers and local activists held a phone bank in Las Vegas pushing calls into Senator Dean Heller's office urging him to protect Medicaid expansion funding and vote against the GOP's secret health care repeal. Lawmakers attending included Senator Pat Spearman and Assembly members Chris Brooks, Lesley Cohen, Brittney Miller and William McCurdy II. Senator Heller is the most vulnerable GOP Senator up for re-election in 2018, and he will be a deciding vote on health care repeal.

"After his numerous partisan votes in Washington to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, we can't trust Dean Heller to do the right thing and protect our health care," said Nevada State Democratic Party Chair William McCurdy II. "Now more than ever, it's time for us to speak up and demand that Senator Heller vote against his party's destructive, secretive health care 'plan' that would increase your costs and strip coverage from hundreds of thousands of Nevadans. We urge everyone to continue calling Senator Heller's office to tell your stories, share your concerns and remind him what's at stake with his vote."

While Heller recently confirmed his support for ending Medicaid expansion funding, Governor Sandoval has reiterated his firm opposition to any plan that rolls back that funding - putting the two Republicans at odds. More than 200,000 Nevadans are now enrolled in Medicaid expansion and could lose health care if Washington Republicans enact this dangerous plan. A 10 percent cut to Medicaid could also blow a $289 million hole in Nevada's state budget just for the current fiscal year.

A recent analysis (https://www.axios.com/who-loses-from-new-benefit-limits-2440451694.html) found that the Senate's health care repeal could also hit 242,000 Nevadans with new annual benefit limits and 182,000 Nevadans with lifetime benefit limits. Poll after poll shows that voters are strongly opposed to the Republican health care plan and decreasing federal funding for Medicaid.

Example tweet from today's event: (https://twitter.com/nvdems/status/877241578393223168).