STATEMENT OF ROBERT RESTUCCIA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY CATALYST, ON THE ELECTION OF DONALD TRUMP AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

BOSTON – “Last Tuesday’s election results were a shock to many of us. The country elected Donald Trump as president, a man who ran a campaign of division and exclusion – marked by racist, sexist and homophobic rhetoric – that offered no positive vision for moving the country forward.  Additionally, over the course of the campaign, Trump attacked immigrants and religious minorities and mocked people with disabilities. President-Elect Trump has now reaffirmed his campaign pledge that one of his first acts will be to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a law that has provided health insurance to 20 million Americans and has been the focus of much of Community Catalyst’s work.

“The majority party leadership in Congress shares the president-elect’s goal of repealing the Affordable Care Act and has also aimed to undertake entitlement reform for many years. This reform will likely undermine Medicaid and Medicare, which serve as the backbone of our health system by providing care to millions of older adults, people with disabilities, children and low-income families.

“Community Catalyst has been challenged in the past, though never has the challenge been on so many different issues affecting so many of the people we strive to give voice to through our work. But because we’re from the ‘don’t mourn, organize’ school, we are already at work with our partners in states across the country and at the national level to respond to efforts to take away access to affordable, quality health care. We are mobilizing our resources strategically to challenge the rollback of the Affordable Care Act and other critical health programs.

“This will not be a quick or easy battle, but we stand ready to fight as long and hard as needed on behalf of the millions of Americans whose lives are at stake.”

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About Community Catalyst
Community Catalyst is a national, non-profit consumer advocacy organization founded in 1998 with the belief that affordable, quality health care should be accessible to everyone. We work in partnership with national, state and local organizations, policymakers, and philanthropic foundations to ensure consumer interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and the health system are made: in communities, courtrooms, statehouses and on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit www.communitycatalyst.org. Read our blog at http://blog.communitycatalyst.org. Follow us on Twitter @healthpolicyhub.