Locals react to Senate health care bill unveiling

The Senate Republicans have unveiled their version of a healthcare plan Thursday morning, one month after the House bill was passed. Congressman Raul Ruiz and other Democrats voiced their opposition to the bill at a news conference.

Watch: Protesters, many in wheelchairs, gather to oppose Senate health care bill

Congressman Ruiz called the bill “cruel and deadly” and said thousands will die under the plan, which he said is a medical fact, not a political statement.

Zoe Gordon of La Quinta said she did not like the Affordable Care Act but felt the new Senate health care bill would be much worse.

“I don’t agree with it. I think it’s wrong, she said. “I think insurance should be for the good of the people…the citizens.”

Mindy Larson of Palm Desert was glad to see lawmakers taking action on healthcare but felt they should have had more transparency in the process.

“I wish it had been done more in the open,” she said I hope there’s time for both sides to sit down and iron out some of their differences.”

Freddy Cordova, who works in the Coachella Valley said he was glad to see the penalties for having no insurance under the ACA removed in the bill.

“I paid about $900 this year for the penalty that would have covered most of my insurance for the half of the year that I started to get now,” he said.

Ultimately, all of them felt no matter if the bill was passed or not, there would be unhappy campers.

“I don’t see anything coming out that’s going to make the majority of Americans happy because there’s too many competing interests,” Larson said.

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