Photos: 30+ Signs That Scream 'Healthcare For All' At March Against GOP Plan

By aaroncynic in News on Mar 24, 2017 5:41PM

Hundreds marched through the Loop Thursday afternoon at rush hour to decry Republican plans to repeal and replace Obamacare on the seventh anniversary of its signing into law.

“Their intention is to decimate our healthcare system,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle at a press conference outside the Chicago Club prior to the rally. “What Republicans have proposed is a disaster for Cook County. Under the ACA, 480,000 - almost half a million people - in Cook County were able to sign up either for a Medicaid expansion program or a marketplace health plan.”

Organizers scheduled the press conference and protest to coincide with a visit House Speaker Paul Ryan was expected to pay to Chicago for a $1,000 to $50,000 fundraiser at the Chicago Club, which has since been tentatively moved to Friday afternoon after the vote on the bill was delayed. Those against the plan celebrated the reprieve as temporary victory in the streets during the protest, but the House is set to vote on the bill in the afternoon.

Now: hundreds marching through the Loop for #ilsaveaca #carenotchaos pic.twitter.com/Os5IY4O3bc

— Aaron Cynic (@aaroncynic) March 23, 2017

Scene outside Trump Tower in Chicago now #carenotchaos #ilsaveaca pic.twitter.com/3TaDkEXUC3

— Aaron Cynic (@aaroncynic) March 23, 2017

The American Health Care Act has been roundly criticized by both Democrats and Republicans, as well as those who have benefited from the Affordable Care Act, many of whom could lose their coverage should the Republican plan pass. In Illinois, an analysis provided by Senator Dick Durbin’s office shows the AHCA could cost the state $40 billion in federal funding due to Medicaid cuts, and more than one million people could lose their coverage over the next decade.

“Getting insurance was out of the question for me because of a preexisting condition,” said Will Wilson, a 63 year-old man living with HIV/AIDS, who told reporters he was able to obtain better health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act. “The insurance I had at the time (when diagnosed) didn’t cover anything. Within a year I lost that coverage and went into medical bankruptcy.”

Critics of the healthcare plan which billionaire President Donald Trump has demanded lawmakers ram through Congress have also pointed out that both insurance companies and other already exceedingly wealthy Americans who more than likely sleep on large piles of money stand to make a tidy profit off the suffering of others. State Senator and newly announced gubernatorial candidate Daniel Biss chided Governor Bruce Rauner, who has mostly been silent on the matter outside of a few recent comments that he was “troubled” by the plan.

“Not only does this bill put at risk healthcare for over a million people, billions of dollars for Illinois and tens of thousands of jobs, it does one other thing - it gives billionaires like Bruce Rauner a tax cut of what would have been up to $7 million in 2015,” said Biss.

It's unclear as to whether or not Ryan will make it down to Chicago today for the scheduled fundraiser, but another protest has already been scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Chicago Club.

Update 1:45 p.m.

Crain's Chicago reports that Ryan has once again postponed the fundraiser, now indefinitely. The vote will allegedly not come until at least 3:00 p.m. EST, making it impossible for him to attend. Unnamed sources told Crain's that the event has already netted $2 million in contributions.

The protest however, is still on. A Facebook event page created by the Chicago ANSWER coalition notes that the venue has changed - from the Chicago Club to Trump Tower. "Instead of the Chicago Club, please join us at Trump Tower at 4 PM to continue standing against the Trump regime, and to stand up for healthcare as a human right that should not be subject to the whims of a right-wing congress," reads the page.