Twitter Users Tell Flake to 'Be a Hero' and 'Show Some Backbone' on Health Care Bill

Arizona residents tweet at Jeff Flake to vote 'no' on Senate health care bill.

July 13, 2017

Protesters lined the streets of Camelback Road outside the Senate office of Jeff Flake recently to demonstrate their opposition to the Republican health care bill. Jim Louvau

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Protesters lined the streets of Camelback Road outside the Senate office of Jeff Flake recently to demonstrate their opposition to the Republican health care bill.

Jim Louvau

Republicans took another crack at the GOP health care bill today that left Senator Jeff Flake on the fence. Arizona residents weren't willing to let Flake hem and haw about their health care and immediately took to Twitter to try to persuade him to vote 'no' on the revised bill.

@JeffFlake Please vote No on the health care bill. The weakest and most vulnerable Americans are counting on you to have strength & courage.
— Nancy Long (@NancyLong6) July 13, 2017

Some tried to play into his ego, asking him and fellow Arizona Republican Senator John McCain to "be a hero" for residents relying on Medicaid. Other Twitter users, like the resistance group Indivisible, taunted the senators to "show some backbone" and included a visual aid.

Who wants to be a hero today? @DeanHeller @JeffFlake @SenCapito @lisamurkowski @senrobportman https://t.co/rx1FlJ5uVv
— Rantidote (@jkornack) July 13, 2017

Arizona telling @SenJohnMcCain Fri 7/14 VOTE NO on BCRA. 8AM 407W Congress/Tucson. Retweet this image to YOUR GOP Senator. We can't let up. pic.twitter.com/wn2guKnJzq
— Indivisible S. AZ (@Indivisible_SAZ) July 13, 2017

The new revised bill has fewer tax breaks for wealthy Americans and redistributes that money to increase funding for high-cost patients.

The most controversy is surrounding Senator Ted Cruz's amendment, which allows insurance companies to sell cheaper, minimalistic plans alongside what is already being sold under the Affordable Care Act. This amendment also would also give the power to state governments to change what qualifies as "essential health benefits."

This demonstrates that @JeffFlake doesn't understand what the problem is and doesn't understand his constituents. https://t.co/xQfi9IHEmL
— Lindsay (@lindsanity) July 13, 2017

.@JeffFlake is willing to throw millions of Americans, thousands of Arizonans under the bus w/ bad insurance plans https://t.co/1x3cUoxAP0
— Nathan Davis (@TheChattyDavis) July 13, 2017

Arizona residents are most concerned about changes to Medicaid, which Flake acknowledged this morning on the 550 KFYI Phoenix radio show. In an interview alongside Cruz, Flake said, "This amendment does not affect the Medicaid side at all."

CALL @JeffFlake & demand @SenateGOP #ProtectOurCare: 844-432-0883 #HandsOff #Medicaid. pic.twitter.com/uZITl4vg2T
— MoveOn.org (@MoveOn) July 13, 2017

The new Senate bill is proposing giving the funds to states based on enrollment numbers or a block grant. Other changes from the ACA would include the one-year Medicaid funding freeze for Planned Parenthood as the House Bill described.

.@JeffFlake #WhatsProLifeAbout taking care away from the women in #Arizona who rely on #PlannedParenthood? pic.twitter.com/1bF82Tsx9t
— PopConnectAction (@popconnect) July 7, 2017

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