Help Shift the Debate for Health Care Reform Towards Kids
For the next few months the overriding focus in Washington is likely to be health care reform. Legislation is being debated in several Congressional committees, and President Obama has called for a bill to be on his desk before the August recess. However, the topic of children has not received major coverage so far. At Every Child Matters, we believe that discussion of this reform must include how children are going to be covered, and what will change for the millions who are covered through Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. As the debate continues, we will continue to keep you updated on how the health reform process relates to children.
In the meantime, here are some ways you can get involved in this ongoing debate:
- Health Care for America NOW, or HCAN, will be holding a nationwide, grassroots rally on June 25th, to lobby every Member of Congress in support of quality, affordable health care for all. To learn more about the rally, and to find out how to get involved in your state, »Click Here.
- If you haven't already, please sign our petition which presents a set of principles regarding children that must be considered in the health care reform debate. »Read and sign the petition here. If you have already signed, thank you!
- Both the New York Times and the Washington Post have compiled their recent health reform related articles, opinion pieces, and blog posts into a more user friendly one page format. Many of these articles will allow for people to post comments, which you can use as opportunities to make kids a part of the discussion. Read the ongoing coverage of the health reform debate from the New York Times here, and visit the Washington Post site here.
- As always, you can forward this message to your friends, family, and colleagues to get them involved.
Thank you for your help to make children a political priority!
Thanks, Dan, for making it sarponel to your family. I do believe that narratives about real people are most effective in helping the public understand public policy and the effects of policy change. My two sons are in college and I had already been afraid of what they would do if they didn't get a job with benefits. I have preexisting conditions which would preclude me from getting insurance on my own. I have always said that were it not for my husband's job as an academic at a state college,our family's trajectory would have been very different. Some people have not been so lucky.When middle class people who have health insurance finally grasp what's in it for me and my family they will see that this is not another poor people's entitlement . Unfortunately a lot of people don't see life in terms of the common good and don't link how supporting what is good for the greater good will benefit them as well. Your link about how health care will free people with regards to employment opportunities is most apt. When workers begin to see how many more employment and educational opportunities are available to them when they are not tied to one job or locked into one profession, they will ultimately be living the American Dream! Can't imagine any Republican taking issue with individual freedom and the free market!