[Video description can be found below. If you use a screen reader and need to access the English or Spanish caption file transcript, go to "More..." and click on "Transcript"]

What does the new proposed health care bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), mean for the deaf and hard of hearing community if passed? The Senate postponed the vote until after July 4th, so we must act now.

Contact your Senators: Link

VIDEO DESCRIPTION AND TRANSCRIPT: Melissa is standing in front of a teal wall facing the camera. A small white NAD logo appears on bottom right corner.

MELISSA: Hi, I'm Melissa. The past month of June has been keeping the NAD Board busy with attending state association conferences and national affiliate conferences. Even with all the traveling, we are still meeting regularly to keep up with the work we need to do. I want to get right to an important video update for this month: some Senate leaders have proposed a new health care bill, called the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). This new bill aims to replace the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare). According to the Congressional Budget Office, this new bill would cause four major changes. 1) 22 million people would lose health insurance coverage by the year 2026; 2) higher premiums for less coverage; 3) less protections for people with pre-existing conditions; and 4) Medicaid coverage will drop (no longer offered) for millions of people. Millions of deaf and hard of hearing people are on Medicaid, and this new bill would be terrible for all of these deaf and hard of hearing people on Medicaid as well as those who have other health insurance coverage that would be reduced or unavailable to them if this bill passes. Call your Senators now. The Senate postponed the vote until after July 4th, so we must act now. If you have private health insurance, tell your senators that you need to keep your health insurance coverage as it is under the Affordable Care Act. If you are on Medicaid, tell your senator that you are on Medicaid and would lose your coverage under their new BCRA if it passes. Please call your Senators NOW!

Video fades to a soft white background with several different font types showing "NAD" very quickly. Copyright video ends with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) logo centered. Blue text below the logo appears, "A production of the National Association of the Deaf (copyright) 2017 All Rights Reserved".