Time to reset our moral compass

To the editor:

On May 4, after the Republicans passed a health care bill in the House of Representatives, one number came to mind: 24 million. That’s the number of Americans who could lose their health insurance by 2020.

This according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office for the first time “repeal and replace” was posited.

This time, the bill was voted on only 17 hours after it was brought to the floor, negating the possibility of the CBO conducting a second assessment. 

However, given that the bull would reduce funding to Medicaid by $880 billion over the next 10 years; eliminate the mandate that all people buy insurance thereby leading insurers to raise premiums as younger, healthier people drop out; and provide states the option of requesting waivers requiring insurers to provide policies to people with pre-existing conditions without higher rates, we are left with a health care bill where clearly the losers are those who need protection the most — the poor, the elderly, and those who are the sickest.

Is this who we are? Is not a country judged by how it treats its most vulnerable and weakest citizens? Is it not time to reset out moral compass?

EILEEN FISHER