Sen. Bernie Sanders plans to host rallies this weekend in two red states, Kentucky and West Virginia, where he will speak out against Senate Republicans’ efforts to partially repeal and replace Obamacare.
Sanders, I-Vt., announced in a press release Wednesday that the rallies, dubbed “Care Not Cuts,” will both occur on Sunday, first in West Virginia and then Kentucky.
Sanders said the Senate GOP plan would particularly hurt Kentucky, the state represented by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican.
“McConnell’s legislation, which would throw 22 million Americans off of health insurance, would be a disaster for the country and an even worse disaster for the people of Kentucky,” Sanders said. “Under the Affordable Care Act, Kentucky has made significant progress in lowering the number of its uninsured people. Further, the expansion of Medicaid there has been of significant help in the fight against the opioid epidemic which has ravaged Kentucky.”
The House passed a bill repealing and replacing parts of Obamacare in May, but Senate Republicans have struggled to advance their plan.
Because of opposition from some GOP senators, McConnell delayed a vote on the plan until after the Senate returns from its week-long, July Fourth recess.
The Senate’s proposal has been criticized by conservatives for not repealing enough of Obamacare and by centrists for the changes the bill made to Medicaid.
Democrats are united against the GOP plan, and Senate Republicans would need at least 50 votes to pass the legislation under budget reconciliation.
Both Kentucky and West Virginia chose to accept Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
