Thread by @emzorbit

Last night, I listened to a tele townhall with my MoC, Rep. Ann Wagner. She has not held an in-person townhall since she took office in 2012. I've participated in several of these in the past two years. Last night's left me particularly disturbed. /1

A caller, let's call her Alice, is a small business owner in St. Charles. She and her husband get their insurance from through the ACA and pay about $1700 a month with $6500 deductible. Alice professes to be healthy but her husband has diabetes. /2

Alice has a 30 y/o daughter-in-law with breast cancer. Alice's son and DIL vote Democrat because "they don't think the Republicans have a plan for healthcare". /3

At this point, I could go on about risk pools, about complications that diabetes poses, about increased health issues that arise at menopause (assuming Alice is at least 50 y/o). Or how healthcare and healthcare coverage or insurance are two different things /4

I could also retell the hundreds of families I've worked with who never thought they'd see their child in the NICU, PICU, burn, oncology or spinal cord unit. But that's for another thread. /5

What bothered me was Rep. Wagner's response. Both the substance and the underlying message. The substance of Wagner's response was that of course the Republicans have a plan. The plan passed the House but failed in the Senate. /6

Sidenote - this is a theme to Wagner's tele-townhalls. She likes to blame a lot of things on the Senate. I anticipate this is either for her eventual run in the Senate or the larger GOP message as they try to oust McCaskill this fall. /7

Wagner's answer also included how Republicans would protect the most vulnerable with catastrophic plans that people with pre-existing conditions could access. How they've expanded access to short-term less expensive plans. /8

And how the Republicans have increased the amount you can put into HSA's and they've increased access to Association Health Plans. Sounds great, right? Cupcakes and unicorns for everyone!! The GOP saves the day! /9

Unfortunately, all these things Wagner listed are unlikely to have a positive impact on Alice's main cripe about the ACA - the cost. They are also likely to have a negative impact on Alice's daughter-in-law with a pre-existing and potentially expensive condition. /10

Wagner painted this rosey picture of how the GOP has all the answers to this family's problems if it weren't for those pesky Democrats. I had the uneasy feeling that the caller came away thinking she, Alice, was now informed on the issue. /11

Except she wasn't. Wagner had not provided this caller with information. She had provided her with talking points and this does not help her constituent(s) one bit. It only helps Ann Wagner get re-elected. /12

I've listened to Wagner tell half-truths and make outrageous claims on these calls before. But healthcare coverage is so personal. An illness or accident can bankrupt a family. Without coverage or a means to pay, treatment can be delayed and have fatal consequences. /13

Healthcare coverage is a tough issue if you are seeking re-election. But off the top of my head, I can't think of another issue other than war and gun control that has immediate life or death consequences on such a personal level for voters, whether they know it or not. /14

IMO, Ann Wagner has lost her way. She can spin tax cuts. She can use cute and clever wording for US foreign policy. She can oversell gutting Dodd-Frank. But to not be honest with constituents about something as important as their family's health is cold and callous. /15

It puts her need for re-election over the best interests of her constituents. Healthcare is not an issue that will be one and done, a problem to be wrapped up before the next election cycle. It requires dedication to facts, science, statistics and math. /16

It requires commitment to work not just within one party but across the political spectrum. Will everyone be happy with the result? No. That's why it also takes courage to make compromise and tell people what they need to hear and not always what they want to hear. /17

To paraphrase Michael Douglas in The American President, healthcare is a serious issue and we need serious people to solve it. Ann Wagner is so worried about keeping her job, she is failing to do her job. Last night's telephone call /18

brought into stark relief that Wagner lacks the dedication, commitment and courage to do her job. The people of Missouri's 2nd District deserve a change. /19

Find more information about health association plans, here npr.org/sections/healt…
Information about short-term plans here: pbs.org/newshour/healt…