Opinion: A big week for health care

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, February 17, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( “In the fight to save the ACA, next week is absolutely pivotal,” Topher Spiro [tweeted]( on Thursday, referring to the health care law. “And YOU can help…” The fight for the law is really a fight to prevent [millions of people from losing health insurance]( and, by extension, medical care. While there are other ways beside the Affordable Care Act to provide insurance, Congressional Republicans have yet to offer such a plan — despite seven years of promising to do so. If you’re a regular reader of this newsletter, you know that I think individual actions can affect national politics. The Tea Party [showed]( how to do it, and left-leaning groups are now repeating those successes. Remember the failed plan to gut the House ethics office, [scuttled]( by a surge of anger? Next week is an important one for health care because members of Congress will be going home, where they will be holding town halls and other meetings. ([Here’s a schedule.]( Those meetings are a chance for people to make clear the actual stakes in the health care debate: not the reputation of Donald Trump, Barack Obama or any other politician, but [the well-being of a lot of Americans](. “Rallies and town halls do have an effect,” Spiro, a former Congressional staff member who now works at the Center for American Progress, told me. “I want to see an outpouring of support for the A.C.A. I want to see lots of big rallies on T.V. I want to see YouTube clips of people asking good questions.” I understand that the Affordable Care Act has flaws, and that [serious conservative plans]( for providing insurance exist. But Congress hasn’t yet offered one of those plans. In reality, all of the “repeal and delay” or “repeal and replace” plans on the table would harm millions of people. The message for Congress next week, and beyond, should be clear: Don’t take away people’s health insurance. The full Opinion report from The Times follows, including Evan McMullin [on Russia’s threat to national security]( and Linda Greenhouse [on immigration raids](. David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist Editorial [Bring On the Special Prosecutor]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The Trump administration’s ties with Russia must be investigated immediately and fully. No one else can credibly do it. Op-Ed Columnist [What a Failed Trump Administration Looks Like]( By DAVID BROOKS Without grown-ups in charge, the government could stop working. Op-Ed Columnist [The One-State Two-State Blues]( By ROGER COHEN Netanyahu’s idea of a Palestinian state does not pass the laugh test. Op-Ed Columnist [The Silence of the Hacks]( By PAUL KRUGMAN Is subversion in the defense of tax cuts no vice? Contributing Op-Ed Writer [One-Month Report Card]( By TIMOTHY EGAN Time flies, but we can still count on the president for one thing: to brag about his Electoral College victory. ADVERTISEMENT Op-Ed Contributor [A Party to the Russian Connection]( By EVAN MCMULLIN Republican leaders knew the danger Trump posed. Now they must own it. Editorial [For a Troubled President, the Media Is a Satisfying Target]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Attacking reporters is more fun than defending the White House mess, and his base loves it. Editorial [Donald Trump’s Answer to Anti-Semitism? You Don’t Want to Know]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The president missed an opportunity to make a strong statement against hate speech and crimes, which have accelerated since the election campaign. Editorial [Plastic Bag Fees Make Sense. Just Not to Albany.]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD In blocking New York City’s plan to impose a fee, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has needlessly held back a workable solution. 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Contributing Op-Ed Writer [The Man Who Let India Out of the Closet]( By AATISH TASEER Karan Johar has done more to normalize homosexuality in India than anyone else. When will he make peace with that? Op-Ed Contributors [How Iowa Republicans Are Threatening Nurses, Teachers and Poets]( By NICOLÁS MEDINA MORA AND REBECCA ZWEIG A new bill would hurt the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and public servants throughout the state. Op-Ed Contributors [By Investing in Science, Trump Can Strengthen the Economy]( By MICHAEL S. LUBELL AND BURTON RICHTER Federal support for science has been getting leaner as countries in Europe and Asia have been ramping up research spending. Op-Ed Contributor [A Chokehold on South African Universities]( By IMRAAN COOVADIA Radical student protesters are shutting down South Africa’s universities to force the authorities to make higher education free. ADVERTISEMENT Insider Podcasts [Good, Bad and Mad: Andrew Rosenthal on the News]( By SUSAN LEHMAN Andrew Rosenthal on Donald Trump’s bizarre relationship with Vladimir Putin, and other news of the week. Letters [Strong Views on the Trump Turmoil]( Readers respond to recent events, including possible Russian contacts, the intelligence agencies, government leaks and an ethical lapse. FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps for just $0.99. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2017 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018