Mickey and Maria McGuire: Denham put loyalty to party above needs of his constituents
Last month we attended Rep. Jeff Denham’s town hall meeting in Turlock. He expressed concern about the low reimbursement rates for doctors who treat Medicaid patients in the Central Valley, as well as the difficulty we have in attracting new doctors. But Rep. Denham’s vote for the House Republican’s recent health care bill would make both of these problems lots worse!
The Republican plan would “save” $880 billion, partly by removing 14 million Medicaid patients from coverage the first year, and additional millions over the following decade. The plan is essentially a tax cut masquerading as a health plan. Ninety percent of the tax cuts would go to 10 percent of taxpayers.
Rep. Denham voted before the Congressional Budget Office scored the bill. Voting for such a large bill without knowing its pricetag, or its consequences, was irresponsible.
Thousands of Central Valley citizens, especially the elderly and children covered by the CHIPS program, will be harmed. When it came down to it, Rep. Denham chose to place the interests of the Republican Party ahead of his constituents. We should remember this on election day.
Mickey and Maria McGuire, Tracy
This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Mickey and Maria McGuire: Denham put loyalty to party above needs of his constituents."