Protestors to rally outside of scheduled Barr appearance in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Several groups will be gathering outside the University of Kentucky’s Hilary J. Boone Center Tuesday evening to protest Representative Andy Barr’s vote to replace the Affordable Care Act with the American Health Care Act.

Rep. Barr is scheduled to speak to the Lexington Medical Society at a dinner at the center, at around 6:00 p.m.

Organizers say they are protesting what they perceive as a “morally and fiscally irresponsible bill” that they say will take health care away from millions, while providing tax breaks for the wealthy.

The protest is hosted by Indivisible Bluegrass, Indivisible Kentucky, Together We Will, the Kentucky Democratic Party, and other organizations.

A Facebook event page shows just under 270 people have committed to attending the protest, with nearly a thousand more claiming an interest in attending.

ABC 36 has reached out to the Rep. Barr’s office, but have not heard back.

Following his vote in favor of the American Health Care Act, Barr stated, “Since I first ran for Congress, I promised the people of the Sixth District that I would vote to repeal this broken law and replace it with reforms that will actually lower costs and expand access to care through patient-centered, market-based reforms.  The American Health Care Act accomplishes these goals and more.  It delivers the most important reforms to an entitlement program in American history, it cuts taxes by nearly $1 trillion, it protects life and redirects funds from Planned Parenthood to Community Health Centers, and it returns power from the federal government to the states and the people.”

Protestors say the rally will begin at 5:30 p.m., and continue until 8:00 p.m.

ABC 36’s Melanie Kendall is following this story, and will have a full report on our News at 5.