Consumer groups call on House to oppose pyramid scheme promotion amendment – National Consumers League

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July 18, 2017

Contact: Cindy Hoang, National Consumers League, (202) 207-2832, cindyh@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—A broad coalition of consumer and Hispanic advocacy organizations is calling on the United States House of Representatives to oppose efforts to weaken the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) ability to protect consumers from fraudulent pyramid schemes. On Thursday, July 13, an amendment offered by Congressman John Moolenaar (R-MI) was added to the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill which would eliminate long-standing requirements that direct selling companies establish a viable retail business instead of relying on a churning base of new recruits.

“The courts have consistently stated that the critical difference between a legitimate MLM business and a pyramid scheme is that a MLM’s revenues must come primarily from the sale of products and services to retail customers unaffiliated with the business opportunity,” wrote the groups. “Unfortunately, the Moolenaar amendment would undermine this critical tenet and create numerous carve-outs and exemptions that would prevent the FTC from prosecuting all but the most blatantly fraudulent pyramid schemes.”

While the Moolenaar amendment purports to establish a federal definition for “pyramid promotional schemes,” the language in fact blurs the line between legitimate business opportunities and illegal pyramid schemes. The groups urged Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to support removing the Moolenaar amendment from the financial services appropriations bill when it comes to the House floor for a vote. 

“The Moolenaar amendment was slipped into the appropriations bill in the dead of night,” said John Breyault, Vice President, Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud at the National Consumers League, which organized the letter. “This direct selling industry knows that this bill stands little chance of becoming law on its own, so instead they are trying to hide it in must-pass legislation. If the bill is as pro-consumer as they would like us to believe, why are they trying to sneak it through at the last minute? The answer is that they know it is a gift to an industry with a long history of pyramid scheme behavior that would relieve it of any meaningful oversight by the FTC.”

Signatories on the letter included Consumer Action, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog, League of United Latin American Citizens, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income clients), National Consumers League, Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG, William W. Keep, PhD, and Peter J. Vander Nat, ​PhD.

To view the full letter, click here.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

LifeSmarts honors FBLA student leaders in Anaheim – National Consumers League

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July 18, 2017

Contact: Cindy Hoang, National Consumers League, (202) 207-2832, cindyh@nclnet.org

George C. Marshall High School students recognized with top honors in LifeSmarts competition at FBLA National Leadership Conference in Anaheim

Washington, DC—Earlier this month, students from George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church, VA, competing at the 2017 Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) National Leadership Conference, took home cash prizes for winning first place in the FBLA LifeSmarts competitive event, June 29–July 2, in Anaheim, California. More than 14,000 of America’s best and brightest high school students from across the country gathered in Anaheim for the annual leadership conference, hosted by FBLA, at which top future business students compete in 65 events.

LifeSmarts is an educational and scholarship program run by the National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization. LifeSmarts competitively tests high school students’ knowledge of consumer awareness, with subjects including personal finance, health and safety, consumer rights and responsibilities, technology, and the environment. The free program is available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in partnership with student leadership programs FBLA, as well as the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA.) 

Sixteen FBLA LifeSmarts teams competed over the course of two days, accumulating points through buzzer matches, a team competition, and individual written assessments. The top eight teams advanced to the second day of competition and competed in a knock-out bracket. The team from George C. Marshall High School beat a team from Lynbrook High School in San Jose, California, in the final match.

Students attended the FBLA conference to enhance their business skills, expand their networks, and participate in business-related competitive events, including the LifeSmarts competition.

LifeSmarts honors in Anaheim

Students from George C. Marshall High School, Falls Church, Virginia, coached by FBLA Adviser Rebekah Glasbrenner, took home first place in the LifeSmarts competition. The team is made up of students Ethan Epstein and Sam Hassett, both recent graduates.

Other winners included:

  • Lynbrook High School from San Jose, California (2nd place)
  • Nickerson High School from Nickerson, Kansas (3rd place)
  • Pensacola High School from Pensacola, Florida (4th place)

“We are so proud of all the LifeSmarts competitors. Throughout competition they exemplified the strength of the LifeSmarts and FBLA partnership, showcasing team spirit, good sportsmanship, leadership, and a breadth of knowledge in financial literacy and consumer rights,” said Lisa Hertzberg, LifeSmarts program director.

The LifeSmarts competition is part of a comprehensive, national, competitive events program sponsored by FBLA-PBL, in partnership with NCL, which recognizes and rewards excellence in a broad range of business and career-related areas. For many students, the competitive events are the capstone activity of their academic careers. In addition to competitions, students immersed themselves in interactive workshops, visited an information-packed exhibit hall, and heard from motivational speakers on a broad range of business topics.

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About LifeSmarts and the National Consumers League

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: LifeSmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org.

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit nclnet.org.

About FBLA-PBL, Inc.

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc., the premier student business organization, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association with a quarter million members and advisers in over 6,500 active middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. Its mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs. The association is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC For more information, visit fbla-pbl.org.

LifeSmarts honors FCCLA student leaders in Nashville – National Consumers League

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July 18, 2017

Contact: Cindy Hoang, National Consumers League, (202) 207-2832, cindyh@nclnet.org

Campus High School students from Wichita, KS, recognized with top honors in LifeSmarts competition at FCCLA National Leadership Conference in Nashville

Washington, DC—Earlier this month, students from Campus High School, in Wichita, KS, competing at the 2017 Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) National Leadership Conference (NLC) took home top honors for winning first place in an FCCLA LifeSmarts competitive event held during the conference, July 2 – 6, in Nashville, Tennessee. More than 8,000 high school students from across the country competed in 32 competitive events, including the FCCLA/LifeSmarts Knowledge Bowl, during the FCCLA NLC. 

LifeSmarts is an educational and scholarship program run by the National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization. LifeSmarts competitively tests high school students’ knowledge of consumer awareness, with subjects including personal finance, health and safety, consumer rights and responsibilities, technology, and the environment. The free program is available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in partnership with student leadership programs FCCLA, as well the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Thanks to the partnership with FCCLA, traditional LifeSmarts topics are expanded to include tourism, housing, fashion design, and early childhood development to focus on family and consumer sciences-specific content within the competition.

In Nashville, the top 14 FCCLA LifeSmarts teams competed over the course of two days. On Monday, July 3, teams competed in pool play, competing three times for cumulative points. The top eight teams advanced to a knockout bracket, which determined the final match-up between Campus High School and the team from Brookings High School, Brookings, South Dakota. On Wednesday, July 5, the two finalist teams competed head-to-head in front of thousands of spectators to kick off the FCCLA Recognition Session held during the NLC. 

Students attended the FCCLA conference to expand their networks, enhance leadership skills, attend workshops, and compete in FCCLA STAR events, including the FCCLA/LifeSmarts Knowledge Bowl.

LifeSmarts honors in Nashville

Students from Campus High School in Wichita, KS, coached by Renae Spangler, took home first place in the LifeSmarts competition. The team is made up of students Hope Wilson, Nick Redfield, Heather Robey, Karina Villa, and Kasen Williams.

Other winners included:

  • Brookings High School from Brookings, SD, coached by Joline Dunbar (2nd place)
  • West St. Francois High School from Park Hills, MO, coached by Tiffany Miller (3rd place)

“We are so proud of all the LifeSmarts competitors. Throughout competition they exemplified the strength of the LifeSmarts and FCCLA partnership, showcasing team spirit, good sportsmanship, leadership, and a breadth of knowledge in financial literacy and family and consumer sciences,” said Lisa Hertzberg, LifeSmarts program director.     

The LifeSmarts competition is part of a comprehensive, national, competitive events program sponsored by FCCLA, in partnership with NCL, which recognizes and rewards excellence in a broad range of family and consumer sciences and career-related areas. For many students, the competitive events are the capstone activity of their academic careers. In addition to competitions, students immersed themselves in interactive workshops, visited an information-packed exhibit hall, and heard from motivational speakers on a broad range of topics. 

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About LifeSmarts and the National Consumers League

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: LifeSmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org.

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit nclnet.org.

About FCCLA

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), is a dynamic and effective national student organization that helps young men and women become leaders and address important personal, family, work, and societal issues through Family and Consumer Sciences education.  FCCLA has more than 160,000 members and more than 5,400 chapters from 48 state associations, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

FCCLA: The Ultimate Leadership Experience is unique among youth organizations because its programs are planned and run by members, and it’s the only career and technical in-school student organization with a central focus on family.  Participation in national programs and chapter activities helps members become strong leaders in families, careers, and communities.

NCL statement before FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee – National Consumers League

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July 13, 2017

Statement of Sally Greenberg, Executive Director
National Consumers League

FDA-2017-N-2732
Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting; Establishment of a Public Docket; Request for Comments 
Open Public Hearing Re: Consideration of Mylan’s biosimilar to Genentech Inc.’s HERCEPTIN (trastuzumab) 

The National Consumers League (NCL) appreciates the opportunity to testify today in support of biosimilars. My name is Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of NCL. Since our founding in 1899, NCL has long been concerned with ensuring the safety, effectiveness, and appropriate use of both prescription and OTC drugs, and medication adherence, which we have helped to advance through our Script Your Future Campaign. 

In addition to being a champion for safe and effective medicines, NCL is committed to ensuring that consumers have access to quality medicines that are also affordable. NCL is a strong supporter of biosimilars, and testified last October in support of the reauthorization of the Biosimilar User Fee Act (BsUFA). We recognize that the entry of biosimilars into the U.S. market presents an opportunity to broaden patient access to life-saving biologic treatments while bolstering competition, reducing costs, and realizing better health outcomes.

Biologics are a manifestation of revolutionary advancements in the development of therapies for patients with debilitating and deadly diseases such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and various forms of cancer. Unfortunately, the price for these complex therapies is often prohibitive for the vulnerable patients who need them the most – with some costing upward of several hundred thousand dollars per year. Biosimilars provide a less expensive alternative to their reference products, offering the same potency and therapeutic benefits at a fraction of the price. Similar to the dynamic relationship of generic and brand name drugs, the presence of biosimilars will not only encourage patient choice, but also boost market competition and drive down costs.

The biosimilar being considered today would be an alternative to the biologic medicine trastuzumab, which treats HER2-positive breast cancer and gastric cancer. HER2+ breast cancer is a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer that affects 1 in 5 women with the disease. In 2017 alone, it is estimated that over 300,000 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer and over 40,000 women will die as a result of this terrible disease. Fortunately, biologic therapies have transformed the way in which we treat breast cancer, with many patients experiencing decreased odds of recurrence, increased odds of survival, and an improved quality of life.

NCL supports FDA’s science-based review of Mylan’s and other new biosimilar applications so that patients can have expanded and affordable access to the safe and effective biologic medicines they need. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

National Consumers League opposes Department of Education rollbacks – National Consumers League

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July 13, 2017

Media contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, filed comments with the Department of Education (DOE) yesterday strongly opposing the dismantling of two pro-consumer Obama-era rules that are intended to prevent predatory practices at for-profit colleges. The first being the “gainful employment regulations,” finalized in October 2014, and the second, “borrower defense to repayment and college accountability regulations,” which was finalized in November 2016. 

“For years, predatory for-profit colleges have defrauded students and families while profiting from federal aid. Multiple investigations have revealed that federal taxpayers are subsidizing schools and programs that consistently leave students and veterans with loans they cannot repay and credentials they cannot use. These schools have offered low-quality, high-priced programs, shortchanged students in their support service offerings, and often misrepresented their abysmal graduation and job-placement rates,” said NCL’s Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “We are asking the Department of Education to reconsider this position and protect the interests of students who have often been treated abysmally by for profit institutions.”  

Read NCL’s full comments to the Department of Education here. 

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

National Consumers League condemns Senator Cotton’s efforts to roll back long overdue consumer protections – National Consumers League

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July 12, 2017

Media contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, NCL executive director:

“After years of careful study and a mandate from Congress, the CFPB rolled out a long overdue rule to protect consumers from forced arbitration. The CFPB’s new rule will guarantee consumers’ rights to join together in a class action. Unfortunately, it took Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and corporate lobbyists less than a day to begin working to undermine this important consumer protection by introducing a Congressional Review Act resolution designed to overturn the rule.

It’s no wonder that corporate lobbyists are so worried about being barred from practicing forced arbitration. Many companies have snuck these provisions into their contracts to protect themselves from being sued for illegal behavior, making them effectively above the rule of law. These odious rip off clauses not only protect corporate wrongdoing, they actually encourage bad practices, because companies know that no matter how badly they act, they face few or no legal consequences. We saw companies hide behind these clauses when Wells Fargo committed identity fraud against their customers, and when Kay Jewelers and Fox News were found to be sexually harassing their employees. While they may try to overturn this long overdue consumer protection, they must not succeed. NCL is committed to protecting consumers from these ‘rip off clauses,’ ensuring that all consumers have access to the justice system, and that corporations are not allowed to abuse their customers and employees with impunity.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Forced marriage still a reality in the U.S. – National Consumers League

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Female Genital MutiliationI learned recently about something I had naively thought was not an America problem: that forced marriage of girls as young as 10 or 11 years old to much older men is happening in the United States. The National Consumers League (NCL) works to protect children from child labor and child marriage. 

The connection between early marriage and child labor is that girls get sold to husbands who use and often abuse them as domestics; the girls are expected to cook, clean, wash clothes, fetch water, and bear and care for children.

Internationally, we support such movements as “Girls Not Brides,” which fights the scourge of child marriage in Africa and around the globe. However, recently Nicolas Kristof in the New York Times highlighted the plight of a young American girl, Sherry Johnson, who was raped at nine years old, became pregnant in Florida as part of an evangelical community, and was forced to marry at the age of 11 her 20-year-old rapist.

Even before she married, Johnson gave birth to a daughter at the age of 10. Unchained At Last is an American advocacy group that tracks child marriage. It was founded by advocate Fraidy Reiss, who gave a recent interview to National Public Radio, herself grew up in the Ultra Orthodox Jewish community under laws that require consent from husbands before a woman can divorce. Her group estimates that over a decade, 250,000 girls as young as 10 have been forced to marry in the US. Twenty-seven states don’t enforce a minimum age for child marriage.

I was astonished to learn of the plight of these girls. Just like in less developed countries, girls are sold to older men as brides at 10- and 11-years-old in some part of the United States. Many of them become pregnant long before it’s safe for them to bear children. Because so many states have no minimum age for marriage, girls in aren’t protected if their parents force them to marry or sell them to an older man. Leaders of the movement to get states to require girls to be 18 before they are allowed to marry say it’s far more difficult than they predicted to get these laws passed across all 50 states.

In June, Texas—the state with the nation’s second highest child-marriage rate—banned the practice, prohibiting marriage to individuals under 18 unless they are 16 or 17 AND are an emancipated minor (and therefore considered to be adults). Between 2000 and 2014, nearly 40,000 minors were married in Texas, including girls as young as 12.

“Girls who marry before age 19 are 50 percent more likely to drop out of high school than their peers and four times less likely to finish college,” noted reporter Christina Cauterucci, who has written about the child marriage epidemic. “They experience higher rates of psychiatric disorders and face rates of intimate-partner violence nearly three times higher than the U.S. average.”

The National Consumers League supports a ban on marriage for people under 18 unless they are emancipated minors. This broad based policy would eliminate many forced marriages involving children while protecting them from the risks to their mental, physical and emotional well-being associated with early marriage.

Female genital mutilation still an atrocious crime in the U.S. – National Consumers League

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SG_HEADSHOT.jpgFemale genital mutilation, which is practiced widely in Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, and India, turns out to be in evidence here in the U.S. as well. This tragic fact is not known by many people. Apparently, in some parts of the U.S. where immigrants from those parts of the world reside, U.S. trained doctors have attempted to perform surgeries on young girls. The World Health Organization (WHO) regards female genital cutting as a violation of human rights. The practice involves cutting of female genitalia and often results in infections and lifelong suffering. 

In the past year in Michigan, two doctors from a small Shiite Muslim sect were believed to have arranged cutting of up to 100 girls, according to prosecutors.

The girls are young, some even around 6-years-old. An American journalist who was herself cut at a young age in the U.S., Tasneen Raja, has decided to write about this terrible practice and along with other American women have started a movement to blow the doors open and condemn what has apparently been happening even in the U.S. for years, but has been shrouded in secrecy.

In 1996, female genital mutilation was banned in the United State. And in 2013, traveling to another country for cutting became illegal. Michigan has begun petitions to terminate custodial rights of the parents who have allowed their daughters to undergo this mutilation. The doctors themselves are either under house arrest or behind bars. One of the doctors received her medical degree at Johns Hopkins. 

Nazia Mirza of Texas, herself a young victim, is one of the leaders of the movement. She explained in the New York Times article cited above that the justification for the practice is to curb sexual promiscuity or preserve tradition. She was told she needed to do this in order to get married. It’s shocking that American trained doctors are still engaging in this criminal, misogynist, and violent practice against girls. NCL has long championed the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls. These cases grab our attention and give us cause to renew our call that laws against such barbaric practices be enforced and violators punished to the full extent of the law.  

National Consumers League celebrates CFPB’s final rule to guarantee consumers their day in court – National Consumers League

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July 11, 2017

Media contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC— After five years of careful study, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today issued its final rule to greatly restrict the use of forced arbitration clauses in consumer contracts. The National Consumers League (NCL) applauds the CFPB’s efforts to restore consumers’ right to challenge financial fraud in court, and the agency’s realization of its congressional mandate under the Dodd-Frank Act to rein in this practice.

The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, NCL executive director:

“Forced arbitration is a tactic employed by corporate America to deprive consumers of their day in court when companies engage in misconduct. These ‘ripoff clauses’ are always buried in the fine print of contracts and have the effect of curtailing consumers’ legal rights and forcing them into closed arbitration sessions bought and paid for by company interests. Since the arbitrators rely on industry for business, arbitrators too often side against harmed consumers and in favor of their corporate clients–in fact, 93 percent of the time. Under the new rules, companies will not have free rein to use these odious clauses, which NCL believes gives a green light for toxic corporate behavior. The CFPB’s rule will help restore the rights of consumers to join class-action lawsuits and bring transparency to the opaque process of arbitration. NCL is proud to stand with more than 280 consumer, civil rights, labor, and community groups to support the CFPB’s arbitration rule. Today’s action is an important step forward in the fight to empower consumers in the financial marketplace.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Senate Republicans try their hand at nixing the Affordable Care Act – National Consumers League

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j_johnson92.jpgWill Republicans’ third attempt to get rid of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) finally be a charm? Well, those in the Senate are doing everything they can to see to it. Following weeks of closed door wheeling and dealing, the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA) has emerged from the Senate as the latest piece of proposed legislation to repeal and replace the ACA. Despite its name, there’s not much about this bill that’s “better”—at least not for the bulk of Americans. 

The BCRA is nothing short of a broken promise to the American people to (1) improve upon the shortcomings of the House legislation, and (2) ensure affordable healthcare for all.  On the contrary, this bill proposes to slash Medicaid funding even deeper than the House bill, defund Planned Parenthood, phase out the Essential Health Benefits that guarantee that every plan offers comprehensive health coverage, significantly weaken consumer health protections, and ultimately kick 22 million Americans off their health insurance. Special interests and tax cuts for the wealthy are prioritized above quality, affordable coverage, and our country’s most vulnerable populations are left with even narrower access to the care they need. Furthermore, this terrible policy is accompanied by even worse politics.

Like so much in our current political environment, the process of this bill, from start to finish, is unprecedented. Whereas passage of the ACA was preceded by nearly 15 months of debate, public hearings, and consideration of dozens of Republican amendments, the BRCA was crafted by an exclusive committee of 13 Republican lawmakers in virtual secrecy without input from the public or even the wider Senate. To add insult to injury, Senate Republicans led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have done everything they can to rush this legislation through Congress without adequate review, originally aiming to bring the bill to the floor mere days after releasing the text to the public. A bill of this magnitude—one that affects millions of Americans and represents an overhaul to one-sixth of the American economy—should not be a pawn in a partisan political game, but rather deserves the utmost transparency and rigorous evaluation. After all, it was Mitch McConnell himself, who in 2009 said, “Fast-tracking a major legislative overhaul such as healthcare reform…without the benefit of a full and transparent debate does a disservice to the American people.” Senator McConnell, I couldn’t agree with you more.

Nonetheless, there is a break in the clouds—Senator McConnell was forced to postpone voting on the BRCA as the GOP could not coalesce around the legislation before the July 4 Congressional recess. Like the House, many Republicans in the Senate are having a hard time reconciling this healthcare overhaul—some believing the bill goes too far, and others thinking the bill doesn’t go far enough. Many moderate senators, particularly those in Medicaid expansion states and states suffering from the opioid epidemic, are facing immense pressure and scrutiny from health advocates and constituents alike, and increasing visibility around the staggering consequences of the BCRA, compounded by the release of a dismal Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score have certainly made the job of selling this bill to the American public significantly harder.

Though the July 4 recess has temporarily sent our senators home, far away from Capitol Hill, it is important to note that just because we may not be hearing anything, does not mean nothing is happening. Senate Republicans have a few more tricks up their sleeve in the form of federal dollars that might entice senators who are on the fence about the bill to get on board. One of the ideas being touted to make the bill more palatable is the addition of a $45 billion opioid addiction treatment fund to support states suffering from the opioid crisis. However, given the massive cuts to insurance coverage that the BCRA proposes, this funding would still prove to be inadequate as people won’t be able to access treatment that they can’t pay for. While it is uncertain whether moderate Republican senators will see this funding as an adequate remedy to their concerns, another way forward might even be repealing the ACA without a replacement. Despite its unpopularity with the American people, President Trump recently called on the GOP senators to repeal the ACA immediately if they cannot agree on a replacement soon. However, such a risky political move may be a gamble Senate Republicans aren’t willing to take.

So while we wait to see what’s next, what can YOU do?

The best thing you can do is continue to engage your senators. Call them. Email them. Tweet them. SEIU’s Healthcare Security Hotline (866-426-2631) will connect you with a Republican Member of Congress based on your zip code. Let them know that passing a bill that causes millions of Americans to lose health insurance or pay more money for less care is not only reckless, but unacceptable. In this critical stretch, it is more important now than ever to take a stand. Never forget that the power to effect change is always with the American people and your voice matters. It is you— the patients, consumers, Americans—that we at the National Consumers League fight for and we will continue to stand with you in these efforts to protect our care.