Remember when Donald Trump’s campaign promise was “better insurance at a lower price?”

So here is what is now happening.

While we are all watching the hearings on Trump’s possible obstruction of the intelligence communities, Republicans are quietly pushing a health bill along through the Senate. It is no better than the House bill we have already seen, the one that will kick many people off of insurance and cause older Americans to see an enormous price increase.

Meanwhile, Trump is causing Obamacare to fail by not following the law. He is refusing to pay subsidies, promised by the law, to insurance companies. This is like the landlord promising to pay your electric bill and then blaming the power company when they shut off your lights when he doesn’t pay them.

Trump is using the “swamp” methods he railed against during his campaign. He and the Republicans hope you look the other way while they pass a law giving the rich a tax break and taking away many Americans’ ability to afford healthcare. Politicians like it best when we are busily doing our lives and not paying attention.

Now is the time to call, write, tweet, repeat, to let our lawmakers know we are watching and we will hold them accountable for their vote. There is an excellent guide online: trumpcaretoolkit.net.

It lists contact information for Senators who may still be examining healthcare options and a script of what to say. Use this, or simply call Senators and make it clear: we need to see the bill long before it is voted on so we can express our concerns. And, then we expect our opinions to count about whether they vote yes or not.

If they don’t listen, they should expect us to vote against returning them to represent us.

Carolyn Medland

Hubbard Lake