Last night the Senate passed a tax bill that will take health care away from 13 million Americans including older adults and people with disabilities. Further, it will severely impact the economic security of millions of older Americans and people with preexisting conditions—all for the benefit of the wealthiest 1% of Americans and large corporations.

This tax bill, if passed as is by the House, will explode the deficit by at least a trillion dollars, leading these same Republicans to carry out their calls for massive cuts in Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and other critical programs that older adults and their families need, while offering little to no tax relief for struggling low and middle income families.

The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that even considering economic growth, this bill will cut revenue by $1 trillion. This will force immediate cuts to Medicare and other programs under sequestration. The CBO projects cuts of $25 billion to Medicare in 2018 alone.

The repeal of the individual mandate will cause premiums to spike for those with preexisting conditions, especially impacting older adults age 55-64 who are enrolled in health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Many will not be able to afford health care. An estimated 13 million Americans will lose their health care, including 5 million people who would not get Medicaid even though they qualify.

This full-fledged attack on people who are already struggling is unconscionable and will cause lasting harm not only to today’s seniors, but to tomorrows’ seniors as well. This includes our grandparents, our parents, ourselves, and our own children.

We call on the House to halt this rushed process, and urge Congress to start over to ensure that any changes to the tax code will not drive up deficits or reduce access to health care for older adults, people with disabilities, and their families.