Police Arrest Another Wheelchair-Bound Activist Protesting the GOP's Health Care Bill

By Eleanor Sheehan | July 7, 2017 | 3:08am

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Sen. Pat Toomey’s “invitation only” town hall in Harrisburg, PA, may not have been attended by constituents who stand to suffer immensely under the GOP’s proposed health care bill, but they made their voices heard.

PennLive.com reported that at least 100 protesters demonstrated outside the event on Wednesday evening. Amidst chants of demands to “no cuts to Medicaid,” Harrisburg police wheeled away one activist with disabilities who was blocking an entrance to the event.

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Six people were arrested at the protest, according to local news station ABC27; they were charged with trespassing. Another video shared on Twitter by an ABC27 reporter showed several wheelchair-bound protesters blocking the station’s entrance.

The Republican Senator described the GOP proposal as a “positive step toward repairing the damage caused by Obamacare” and said he would “likely” vote for the bill.

I think that depends on one’s definition of “repair,” since brutal cuts to Medicaid don’t really constitute a solution. Perhaps Toomey should also reassess how “damaging” the American Health Care Act would be for the 22 million people who could lose coverage if the legislation passed.

During Wednesday’s town hall Toomey, who helped author the bill, defended his position — claiming “a lot of misinformation and inaccurate stories” have contributed to the proposal’s unpopularity.

“The category for the elderly, for instance, that’s not changed. We’re going to continue to provide those resources,” Toomey told the invite-only audience. “Medicaid spending is going to grow every year. I am an advocate for giving states more flexibility to find better ways to deliver health care services to low-income people.”