
Former President Barack Obama slammed the Republican health care repeal in a blistering Facebook post, calling out the "fundamental meanness" of the bill, and calling on Americans to "speak out" and let congress know what it would do to their families.

Former President Barack Obama tore into the health care bill finally revealed by Senate Republicans in a Facebook post.

Arguing well beyond the 140-character Twitter rants that Donald Trump has relied on, Obama dismantled the Republican argument for dismantling health care reform, and pointed out the devastating effect it would have if enacted into law.

Obama called on Republicans to "step back and measure what’s really at stake," pointing out that their rationale for major legislative action should be "something more than simply undoing something that Democrats did."


He added, "I still hope that there are enough Republicans in Congress who remember that public service is not about sport or notching a political win."

The former president then directly addressed the "fundamental meanness" of the Republican plan, which would cut Medicaid funding for thousands of vulnerable Americans, while denying health insurance to millions:

The Senate bill, unveiled today, is not a health care bill. It’s a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America. It hands enormous tax cuts to the rich and to the drug and insurance industries, paid for by cutting health care for everybody else. Those with private insurance will experience higher premiums and higher deductibles, with lower tax credits to help working families cover the costs, even as their plans might no longer cover pregnancy, mental health care, or expensive prescriptions. Discrimination based on pre-existing conditions could become the norm again. Millions of families will lose coverage entirely. Simply put, if there’s a chance you might get sick, get old, or start a family – this bill will do you harm. And small tweaks over the course of the next couple weeks, under the guise of making these bills easier to stomach, cannot change the fundamental meanness at the core of this legislation.

Obama also encouraged voters to step up and let Congress know their feelings about the bill: "If you are willing to speak out, let them and the country know, in very real terms, what this means for you and your family." Already, the signs of resistance to the cold-blooded cuts in the bill can be seen on Capitol Hill, right outside the office of the Republican leader.

Noting that the debate over the bill is "about the character of our country," he described the struggle to determine what America stands for – to aid those in need or to boost the extremely well-off – as something "always worth fighting for."