Our campaign has picked up such great momentum since Moveon.org, HCAN, DFA, and SEIU joined aboard. In just a week, thousands of people have joined our Facebook group, and thousands have joined us in support of telling Congress in a very loud voice----FINISH YOUR JOB ON HEALTH CARE REFORM!
We still need more people ready to make those phone calls on February 24th, because we need ALL HANDS ON DECK for this momentous event, so today, can you please ask your friends to join you in making phone calls to Congress?
PLEASE TELL US IF YOU'LL BRING YOUR FRIENDS ABOARD FOR THE 1,000,000 VOICES VIRTUAL MARCH ON D.C.!
While you're waiting to burn up the lines to Congress on February 24th, right before the day of the bipartisan Presidential health summit, here are three things that you CAN do to help move health care reform forward!
- Tell your Representative to sign on to the Perriello-Markey bill to repeal the antitrust exemption for insurance companies. This is a very easy call: insurance companies shouldn't be allowed to collude to set prices: they should have to compete for business fairly. Period.
- Tell your Senator to sign onto the Bennet letter in support of a public option. They can join twenty of their colleagues who have signed on this week, including Sen. Schumer - who, as the chair of the Senate Rules Committee, knows a fair amount about Senate process and how to get this done procedurally.
- Be one of a million voices for health care: pledge to make calls on Feb 24 for members of Congress to fix and pass the health care bill.
Here's also good news about health care reform on another front--Senator Dianne Feinstein will introduce a bill that seeks to block insurance rate increases across the nation. This is the kind of legislation that has actual teeth, and makes private insurers scared because this is the kind of legislation they don't want. Well, then they shouldn't have hiked premiums way up so much by 56% in Michigan, by 39% in California, 24% in Connecticut, and 23% in Maine.
It's always their greed that does them in, and it's why the public option is gaining such great momentum lately. Here's more about the bill being offered by Senator Dianne Feinstein.
The bill would create a national Medical Insurance Rate Authority, which would be able to prevent such increases. Feinstein's announcement follows reports that Anthem Blue Cross had intended to jack up premiums for certain policyholders in California by as much as 39 percent.
· Require companies to justify unreasonable premium increases, using a process to be established by the HHS Secretary.
· Give the Secretary authority to deny or modify health insurance rate increases that are found to be unjustified.
· Require the Secretary to determine whether states have the capability to conduct rate reviews. To assist the Secretary, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners will submit a report that examines current state authority, capabilities, and recent rate review actions.
· Establish a Medical Insurance Rate Authority to advise the Secretary. It will have seven members -- two consumer representatives, one insurance industry representative, one physician, and three additional experts.
For more about what we're also planning to do on February 24th with HCAN, MoveOn, DFA, SEIU, and Progressive Congress, please read below:
Each organization will ask its members to call, email, fax, or write a letter. If you decide to call, you'll be offered talking points. You're free to use them or not, whatever moves you. Just take an action--call, email, fax, letter--it's all about 1,000,000 contacts on February 24th.
These are the talking points on our website. You're free to use them or not, it's your choice.
The call-in effort will be to ask for these items below in the reconciliation fix, and directing these calls at the House and the Senate.
* Inclusion of the public option
* The Medicare buy-in
* Fixing the excise tax
* Getting rid of the Nebraska Cornhusker Kickback deal
* National exchange
* Drug re-importation
* Drug price negotiation in Medicare Part D
* Increasing subsidies.
Why are we aiming high?
Because we need to do our best, and always fight to the end in making this Senate bill better.
On the other hand, if you believe the best route to getting a bill passed is for the House to simply vote to pass the Senate Bill, you are free to make that your "ask". And we thank you too, for participating.
All we ask, is that you take an action.
CLICK TO JOIN UP WITH US TO BE READY FOR THIS MASSIVE DAY OF ACTION ON THE 24TH!
Thank you for joining the 1,000,000 Voices Virtual March on Washington campaign, and tell your friends to join as well!
Disclosure:
The funds donated to the Progressive Congress Action Fund, a 501(c)4 non-profit organization headed by Darcy Burner, will be used to advocate on behalf of the progressive agenda, to advance progressive legislation, and may include payments to individuals engaged in fund raising.