Thread by @CCIAction

BREAKING: 30 @CCIAction and @IAStudentAction members are refusing to leave @JoeBiden’s statewide headquarters in Des Moines over his lies about #MedicareForAll and his ties to the insurance company CEOs who are funding his campaign.

We are members of @CCIAction and Iowa Student Action. We are sick and tired of seeing our families, friends, and neighbors suffer under the cruelty of a healthcare system dominated by greed. And we are tired of experiencing this cruelty in our own lives.

We are here today because Vice President @JoeBiden is lying about #MedicareForAll and doing the bidding of health insurance executives and CEOs. We have tried to talk with Biden for 9 months, but all of our calls and emails have been ignored.

This is a matter of life and death. When @JoeBiden comes into our state and spreads lies about healthcare, our loved ones die.

We have a moral obligation to speak the truth. Iowans, and the millions of people across the country, who can no longer wait for #MedicareForAll.

.@JoeBiden is taking untold amounts of dollars from healthcare industry insiders and using that money to come to Iowa and lie about #MedicareForAll.

We’re here today demanding he stop these lies, return the 💵he's taken from healthcare CEOs, and refuse this money moving forward.

We need to speak with @JoeBiden’s campaign manager or Biden himself to address these demands, and we’re not leaving till it happens.

Tom Mohan, Sioux City, IA: “Our healthcare system is a mess. It is fragmented, complex, and puts corporate profit before people. We need bold solutions to address this crisis, not half-measures and scare tactics to maintain the status quo. We need #MedicareForAll.”

Cherie Mortice: "This issue is life or death, and we’re experiencing this crisis firsthand. But while we spend our time worrying for our loved ones, @JoeBiden spends his time lying about the healthcare we need. Kiran will tell us the exact lies Biden tells about #MedicareForAll.”

🚫🚫🚫 Biden’s Lies about #MedicareForAll - #1: 🚫🚫🚫

“Medicare goes away as you know it. All the Medicare you have is GONE.”

Fact Check: #M4A expands Medicare to every US resident. The parts that go away are private supplemental plans seniors are currently forced to buy.

#MedicareForAll will make the plan comprehensive by adding dental care, hearing aids, vision care, and more to its list of covered items — while eliminating all co-pays, premiums, and deductibles. #BidenCare would continue denying seniors coverage and charging them for care.

🚫🚫🚫Biden’s #MedicareForAll Lie #2: “We cannot have a hiatus of six months, a year, 2, 3, to get something done.”

Fact Check: There will be no such hiatus with. Biden is pulling this idea out of nowhere. #M4A has a 4-year transition during which nobody will lose coverage.

The transition will add new age groups to #MedicareForAll until every US resident is on the program in the 4th year, and it will create a public option that people can join in the meantime. The program’s list of covered items will expand in the very first year.

🚫🚫🚫Biden’s #MedicareFOrAll Lie #3: “I understand the appeal of #MedicareforAll. But folks supporting it should be clear that it means getting rid of Obamacare, and I’m not for that.”

Factcheck: #M4A doesn’t ‘get rid of’ the ACA; it replaces it with a far better system.

🚫🚫🚫Biden’s #MedicareForAll Lie #4: “BidenCare is ‘the best way to lower costs and cover everyone’.

Fact check: Under @JoeBiden’s plan, nearly 10,000,000 people remain uninsured and 125,000 die due to lack of insurance in the first 10 years.

Under #BidenCare, people will continue to be saddled with thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs and regularly drained by expensive premiums. Only #MedicareForAll will get rid of these costs.

In terms of overall health care spending, #BidenCare will cost $750 billion over a decade. And this is on top of current spending, which is projected at $42.9 trillion over the next ten years. Medicare for All will cost trillions of dollars less.

Tom Mohan says:
“We are gravely concerned with statements @JoeBiden has made demonizing #MedicareForAll. It is time to stop these scare tactics and outright lies.”

The activists in @JoeBiden’s office are here to tell Biden to stop his lies about #MedicareForAll and cut his ties with big healthcare CEOs who fund him.

We are speaking truth to power. We are here to shine our lights!

We know all about the lies @JoeBiden has been telling because we’ve been hearing them for years: They are the talking points of the for-profit healthcare industry. Now, healthcare CEOs and lawyers are giving Joe Biden huge sums of money to get him to repeat these lies.

To say that #MedicareForAll will make Medicare go away, that we can’t afford it, or that millions will lose their jobs is simply not true. These are the talking points of health insurance insiders who have contributed to @JoeBiden’s campaign, but they are not the truth.

Denise Cheeseman @denisecheeseman of @IAStudentAction speaks on our struggles and @JoeBiden's fundraising ties with millionaires and billionaires who can give the maximum contribution to his campaign without batting an eyelash. They're pressuring him to lie about #MedicareForAll.

“On January 7 of this year, Biden’s campaign had a fundraiser in Manhattan that was hosted by some of the wealthiest and most powerful corporate lawyers in our country. These lawyers earned their fortunes by representing some of the worst health care corporations in our system.”

Denise Cheeseman @denisecheeseman with @iastudentaction goes through the lies of health insurance executives.

Here’s just a handful of the people who hosted that fundraiser and how they make their money:

Claire DeMatteis - @ClaireCounsel: Is a board member of Nemours, a health care corporation founded by the Du Pont family. Was a lobbyist for a Du Pont nutraceuticals company called ‘Integrated BioPharma’. She cohosted a fundraiser for @JoeBiden

Richard Davis: Corporate lawyer who spent his career representing big pharmaceutical industries. he cohosted a fundraiser for @JoeBiden.

Doug Dunham: Defends corporations against fraud allegations, negative health impacts, claims of personal injury as the result of exposure to, or the consumption of, asbestos, tobacco, and alcoholic beverages. he cohosted a fundraiser for @JoeBiden

Bart Friedman @bartfriedman: Serves on @OvidRX’s Board, a company that makes drugs to treat rare neurological disorders. Ovid is a member of @IAmBiotech, which is a member of the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future @P4AHCF, which funds ads lying about #MedicareForAll.

Thomas Humphreys also hosted a fundraiser for @JoeBiden. His clients include #KeystoneXL pipeline operator @TCEnergy and drugmaker Forest Laboratories.

These people have a role in causing a lot of human suffering. Other big CEOs that have given the maximum contribution to @JoeBiden’s campaign and are fighting #MedicareForAll: The CEOs of Phosplatin Therapeutics; Psy Therapeutics; Independence Blue Cross, United Healthcare @UHC.

The healthcare industry has given over $1.3 million dollars to @JoeBiden’s campaign.

Healthcare CEOs aren’t giving their money to Joe Biden because they just want to get rid of it. They give this campaign massive amounts of 💵💵💵 because Biden will repeat their talking points.

Cherie Mortice: “We’ve gone over the lies @JoeBiden has told about #MedicareForAll and we’ve gone over who’s paying him to tell those lies.

And now we’re going to speak on the truth about Medicare For All because we are here to speak truth to power.”

#MedicareForAll is the only path forward that:

👵 Provides the best care and most comprehensive coverage for everyone

👨‍🏭 Eliminates premiums, deductibles and copays, and

🏥 Provides free choice among all providers - no more restrictive networks ✅ ✅ ✅

Michael McKinley of Des Moines: “Here’s what we know we have. 500,000 families a year declare bankruptcy every year. My family has been one of them.

30,000 people die each year because they can’t afford healthcare.” #MedicareForAll

“I’m going to read some parts of this letter than ran in USA Today back in October. It was written by Don Berwick @donberwick, who was an adminstrator for Medicare under the @BarackObama @joebiden admistration. Read the article here: usatoday.com/story/opinion/…” #MedicareForAll

“The case for #MedicareForAll is simple. It would lower costs, a lot, while letting us leverage health care $$ to respond to public health crises like the opioid epidemic, invest in disease prevention + modernize care delivery.” usatoday.com/story/opinion/…

“And it would be simpler, easing the onerous burdens of billing for doctors, endless paperwork for all health care professionals, and navigating the confusing coverage system for patients and families." #MedicareForAll usatoday.com/story/opinion/…

“The fact is that, without a change, Americans will spend over $45 trillion on healthcare in the next 10 years. Under #MedicareForAll, total health care spending would likely be far lower.”
usatoday.com/story/opinion/…

#MedicareForAll’s cost to families should be compared with what those same American families will spend on health care if we do nothing. And as things stand now, the trajectory of their health care spending is looking increasingly painful.”
usatoday.com/story/opinion/…

“Health care costs are crushing the middle class, taking more and more money straight from the wallets of workers and families. Small biz cannot afford coverage anymore. Governments know that health care costs crowd out other priorities, like roads and schools."

“The average premium for a family of four in 2019 is a staggering $20,576 — a toll that is eating into wages, while their out-of-pocket costs soar. Since 2009, premiums have increased 54% and workers’ contributions to premiums have increased 71%, but wages have risen only 26%.”

Tom Mohan of Des Moines speaks up: “We call on @JoeBiden to demonstrate a real commitment to addressing our healthcare crisis by returning money you received from health insurance executives and stop telling lies about #MedicareForAll.”

“The time for #MedicareForAll is now. @JoeBiden has a choice: healthcare for those who can afford it, or guaranteed healthcare for all. All means all — everybody in, nobody out.”

Tom Mohan of Des Moines speaks up: “We call on @JoeBiden to demonstrate a real commitment to addressing our healthcare crisis by returning money you received from health insurance executives and stop telling lies about #MedicareForAll.”

We begin singing.

“The time for #MedicareForAll is now. @JoeBiden has a choice: healthcare for those who can afford it, or guaranteed healthcare for all. All means all — everybody in, nobody out.”

We remind the office staff that they are not leaving until they talk to the people with decision-making power on @JoeBiden campaign. Cherie Mortice pulls out a phone and begins to dial.
@CristobalJAlex #MedicareForAll

Activists remind the office staff that they are not leaving until they talk to the people with decision-making power on @JoeBiden campaign. Cherie Mortice pulls out a phone and begins to dial.
@CristobalJAlex

“Good evening. I’m Cherie Mortice. I’m Board President of CCI Action. I’m with a group of folks and we are occupying @JoeBiden’s Iowa HQ. We’re demanding that Biden stop telling lies about #MedicareForAll, give back money he’s received from healthcare CEOs, and support M4A now.”

“Good evening. I’m Cherie Mortice, the Board Pres of CCI Action. I’m with a group of folks and we are occupying Biden’s Iowa HQ in Des Moines. We’re demanding Biden stop telling lies about #MedicareForAll, give back the money he received from healthcare CEOs and support M4A now”

“We’re not leaving this office until you call us back and tell us that Biden has agreed to stop the lies and cut the ties.”

“Good evening. My name is Cherie Mortice, and the Board President of CCI Action. I’m with a group of folks and we are occupying Biden’s Iowa HQ in Des Moines.”

“We are here because we’re demanding that Biden stop telling lies about Medicare For All, give back the money he has received from healthcare CEOs, and support M4A now. “

“We’re not leaving this office until you call us back and tell us that Biden has agreed to stop the lies and cut the ties.”

We still haven’t gotten an answer. We’re calling Senior Biden Advisor Brandon English @brandonenglish.

He hung up on us.

We need to talk about @JoeBiden’s lies about #MedicareForAll and his ties to the healthcare CEOs who fund his campaign.

We can’t unify under a broken healthcare system.

We are suffering and dying.

We need #MedicareForAll. Our lives are on the line.

It’s so important that 5 of our members took arrests tonight.

@JoeBiden has avoided us for nine months. He avoided us again tonight.

Listen to our powerful prayer over the five who took arrests.

We pray that there are ears to hear the truth that we can provide healthcare to everyone in this country. We will not be silent anymore.

#MedicareForAll