Just $5!
Today is my 1st campaign finance deadline
Jan. 31—today—is a big deadline day.
If 29 more D.C. residents donate $5 each to my campaign for the at-large D.C. Council seat in the June 16 Special Election, I will qualify for the Fair Elections Program. That means every D.C. resident’s contribution will be matched 5-to-1, turning $5 into $30 and $100 into $600.
Let me be clear: I am grateful for all my donors, both near and far. Thank you! Every dollar given can be used even more strategically if we can get over the Fair Elections threshold. And I’m serious that $5 is all I’m asking for today.
Today’s also a big day for people who rely on D.C.’s Affordable Care Act marketplace, DC Health Link, to buy their health insurance. It’s the last day to purchase a plan for the year, but it is hardly affordable. As you know, these plans have doubled and tripled in cost because Congress did not renew the federal subsidies that make monthly premiums reasonable for working families.
In the fall, I testified at a hearing to urge the District not to approve premium increases at this time because subsidies might go away, the District was moving more residents off Medicaid, and future funding for our Alliance program (for residents not eligible for Medicaid) was uncertain. More than 100 residents and small business owners said the exact same thing, but our voices were largely ignored. The rate increases were approved.
If our city truly cares about being a good place to run a small business or raise a family, then we need to make sure our business owners and residents can afford access to health care. And given DC Health Link Executive Director Mila Kofman said our exchange has gone from being one of the most affordable to one of the least affordable in the country, D.C. government should be looking at policies other states have implemented to lower costs for hard-working business owners and individuals.
It’s Saturday, and you have things to do, so if you have not donated yet, please consider giving $5 right now. If you want to talk to me before donating, just shoot me an email at elissa.silverman@gmail.com and include your phone number. And if you need health insurance, open season ends at midnight at dchealthlink.com.
Enjoy your weekend and thanks, as always, for your support.
Elissa.