Republican efforts to replace former President Obama’s signature piece of legislation have a new group of activists pitted against them: prostitutes.
Nevada’s licensed prostitutes have organized a hundred-strong coalition called “Hookers for Health Care” to influence America’s national health care debate. Leader Alice Little of Carson City’s Sagebrush Ranch brothel says undoing the Affordable Care Act will undermine “working girls” and those who support them.
“These ladies are often stereotyped and I want to bring some humanity to their stories,” Ms. Little told CNN by phone Thursday. “We are people. We have families. We have the same health concerns as other Americans.”
A press release by the group added that Obamacare’s implementation meant “thousands of prostitutes nationwide were, for the first time, able to obtain affordable health care insurance for themselves and their families.”
The group claims that their “support team” — bartenders, cashiers, drivers — and men over the age of 65 (a “very large” segment of the group’s clients) will also be affected by new legislation.
One key figure who is not on board with “Hookers for Health Care” is the brothel’s owner Dennis Hof, who told CNN that he is a fiscal conservative who supports the president.
“I believe in people taking responsibility for their own lives, and not asking for these kind of government handouts,” Mr. Hof told the network. “You start giving these working girls free or discounted health care coverage, then what comes next? … This is definitely not a road we want to go down.”
House Republicans passed a health care reform bill in May. Mr. Trump is at a political impasse until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell secures at least 50 votes to pass its version of the bill.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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