U.S. Senators need to hear directly from constituents about how the proposed tax bills will affect people with disabilities and their families.

The Senate could vote on this bill as early as this Thursday (11/30) or Friday (12/1).

A national call-in day for on the Senate tax cut bill has been organized for people with disabilities, families, and advocates around the country on Wednesday, Nov. 29th. You can RSVP and invite friends using the Facebook event.

National Advocates say the bill will hurt people with disabilities because:

The bill increases the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion. This means that the federal government is not collecting enough money to pay for existing programs and services (like Medicaid—which funds Family Care, IRIS, BadgerCare, Children’s Long Term Supports, the ForwardHealth Card and other Wisconsin programs).

National advocates are very concerned that tax cuts, which reduce the amount of money the government has to spend, will result in cutting Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and other programs and services that help people with disabilities.

It eliminates tax deductions and credits—including the Rare Disease Tax Credit—that help people with disabilities work, access housing, and get medication.

It gets rid of Affordable Care Act’s requirement that everyone have health insurance. This will cause premiums for people with disabilities and pre-existing conditions to increase, leaving health insurance unaffordable for millions.

Suggested Action Steps

Call Senators Johnson (202) 224-5323 and Baldwin (202) 224-5653 and:

Share your concerns about how the current tax proposals could cut Medicaid and other programs you care about and use.

Share your concerns about how repealing the requirement for all people to purchase health insurance may cause premiums to rise, more people to become uninsured, and result in fewer choices of insurers in some areas.

If you or your family member has a rare disease, tell your Senators and Representative how this credit has or could impact quality of life for people with rare diseases.