Thanks for nothing

It's hard to think of a (printable) word to describe my disgust at the fact that all three of WV's US representatives voted today to take health care away from around 225,000 West Virginians. Hardest hit of these are:

*the 175,000 people from working families who gained coverage from Medicaid expansion;

*the 24,000 or so of those who are getting  help for mental  health or addiction from the expansion; and

*the nearly 300,000 children who had coverage from either CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) or Medicaid at some point during 2016. Up till now, WV was a national leader in covering kids. With the whole health care system now in chaos, we may soon be leading the nation in throwing kids under the bus.

If you want to contact your representative to tell them (OK, their staff) how you feel, you can call:

Congressman David McKinley 1st district, Phone: (202) 225-4172

Congressman Alex Mooney, 2nd district, Phone: (202) 225-2711

Congressman Evan Jenkins, 3rd district, Phone (202) 225-3452

Meanwhile, the action will head to the senate, where Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito will be a crucial swing vote. You can call her office at 202-224-6472.

To his credit, Senator Joe Manchin is the only member of WV's delegation who has come out in favor of preserving the gains of the Affordable Care Act.