Health care reform in trouble

Click here today and we'll fax a flier to Sens. Gillibrand and Schumer on your behalf, asking them to support a strong public health insurance option. Click here

Dear MoveOn member,

Health care reform is in trouble in the Senate.

Conservatives in Congress, including some Democrats, are trying to kill Obama's public health insurance option not by opposing it outright, but by pushing weak half-measures and calling them "public plans."¹ The latest is a proposal for small, regional "co-ops" that would have no chance of competing against insurance companies to bring costs down.²

If we act immediately, we have a good shot at defeating ploys like the "co-op." The key is to make it clear that we support a strong public health insurance option and lay out exactly what that means.

Click below and we'll fax a flier in your name (for free!) to Sens. Gillibrand and Schumer that sets the bar for a strong public health insurance option. Faxes come directly into the office, so staffers are guaranteed to see them. And if enough of us send faxes, staffers will pass the flier on to their senator.

http://pol.moveon.org/fax?tg=FSNY_2.FSNY_1&cp_id=967&id=16427-10220574-8HwgnXx&t=3

It's up to us to remind our senators that an overwhelming majority of Americans—83%—supports a public health insurance option,³ and that weak half-measures like the "co-op" plan are no substitute for real reform.

The flier says: "A strong public health insurance option must be part of health care reform this year," and outlines key criteria that a plan must be based upon:

• Available to all of us: A strong public health insurance option should be available to anyone who chooses to participate. If you like your current plan, you can keep it; if you want to participate in the public health insurance plan, you can choose that.

• A national plan with real bargaining clout: In order to truly control costs and compete with private health insurance plans, a strong public health insurance option must be available nationwide.

• Ready on day one: Every day we wait on real reform, health care costs continue to rise. A strong public health insurance option with a broad network of providers right out of the gate is key to building a competitive program that will help control costs.

• A truly public plan: To ensure it's held to the highest standards of accountability, a public health insurance option must be truly publicly run—accountable and transparent to Congress and to voters.

If thousands of us send faxes to Senate offices this week, we can make sure that message is heard loud and clear. Can you fax Sens. Gillibrand and Schumer today? Click below and we'll send one for you:

http://pol.moveon.org/fax?tg=FSNY_2.FSNY_1&cp_id=967&id=16427-10220574-8HwgnXx&t=4

Thanks for all that you do.

–Patrick S., Kat, Justin, Wes, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "A Public Health Plan," The New York Times, June 21, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51519&id=16427-10220574-8HwgnXx&t=5

2. "A co-op for the public option? Let's talk principles," The Now! Blog, June 12, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51498&id=16427-10220574-8HwgnXx&t=6

3. "New Poll Shows Tremendous Support for Public Health Care Option," Blog for Our Future, June 15, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51510&id=16427-10220574-8HwgnXx&t=7

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PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to eddie alfaro on June 22, 2009. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.