Health Care Reform - Is there a Doctor in the House?

I didn't really know what to write about to my Congresswoman in regards to Health Care Reform. I choose Maria Cantwell because she did not have as much on her website regarding the issue. Unlike Patty Murray,who is actively culling stories to support her case for reform as top billing on her site , or Rick Larsen, who is currently on the ever critical House Budget Committee; he clearly has a strong grasp on this important issue on his site. I felt Cantwell needed the most encouragement.

I decide a pep talk was in order. I mean if I had this tremendous battle playing out in front of ME, I'd want to here the roar of support from the troops behind me as I stepped up. I went with what I feel most comfortable with in an unfamiliar terrain. I can only hope I haven't made too big of a fool of myself by dabbling in politics.

Good luck to Ronni Bennett at Time Goes By with her online campaign and Good Cheer to all of us on this one.

My submission, forthwith:

The Honorable Maria Cantwell

511 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington DC 20510

August 18, 2009

Regarding H.R. 3200

Hello Senator Cantwell,

I am writing to you regarding H.R.3200: America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. I suspect that I am preaching to the choir here but you are my representative for a success in this endeavor and I want to make sure you don’t throw in the towel before every last hope for the best Health Care reform possible has been utilized and provided. This bill must be strong and lasting for generations to come. I count on your keeping this vision intact.

I am an elder who lives and works in Bellingham WA. I have worked for the better part of forty years doing one thing or another to keep mine and my family’s head above water. I have two grown children. One of my children is just starting a family. I hear it through the news that it is a common belief amongst those in political circles that seniors are not supporting Health Care reform. I hear, as well, that there’s a great deal of fact [link} being sullied in the name of special interests. I don’t watch a lot of television myself so I had to do a little digging to look at what the general population is viewing. I then took a look around me and realized that no one that I see in my circle of working seniors thinks the current Health Care System is sustainable nor is (save for possibly the health care provided by the Veterans Affairs Administration) there currently a foundation sturdy enough to build upon. As for concerns of losing Medicare, I understand that reforming a cumbersome bureaucratic mess does not necessarily mean that improvements will not be made. This monopoly by the health insurance industry must end to avoid the suffering of many Americans.

I do not write or call politicians often so you will have to excuse my lack of familiarity with this type of discourse. I simply want to say I am aware that these are critically important times for the fate of our country and this is a very complicated issue. I do not envy your job. I need to tell you, too, that I am hoping that you persevere in trying to keep H.R. 3200 as intact and protected from private interests as is humanly possible. I recognize that we all have a unique opportunity at this time to make a tremendous improvement on scores of lives across this country by setting a policy in place that provides for fair and equitable health care for all. Please do not loose heart or think that elders do not care and that we are not doing what we can in our own way to support these changes. We are online, we are paying attention and we are not afraid of change. We are right here with you in thought and spirit when you are required to go that extra distance to secure this very important improvement to the American Health Care System.

I thank you for all your work and service and I thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

Respectfully,

It would feel good to be a part of moving this improvement of our Health Care System into law. May we all live long healthy lives and prosper in the knowledge our children have the care they need and deserve....

Do you remember November?

This is it. It happened this month, August 2009.

*Please make a note of it.*

All of us who were ecstatic about the election of Barack Obama – all of us who solemnly nodded to ourselves in thanks to the Powers-That-Be that we were given an opportunity for a second chance – all of us who readily admitted that we became too complacent in letting our leaders do all the heavy lifting in maintaining a democracy – all of us who cheerfully said, “Oh YES! We know we are going to have to help Obama! We know the election is just the beginning…” Well, recess is nearly over, literally. If we do not make a strong presence when class reassembles on health care reform, we are going to be witness to a great deal more suffering and disappointment than is necessary.

This Thursday, August 20^th is the day set aside for elders to rise in a clear cry of unity to, at the very least, break the stronghold the spinning media has on projecting the belief that seniors are against health care reform. From TGB:

“…not all of us want to keep our single-payer system – Medicare – and deny everyone else similar benefits, which is how it appears…in widespread media coverage of town hall meetings and interviews with elders.”

Thursday there will be blogging. There will be dust raised as conservative and liberal elders have it out. Don't send us to the front lines alone. This fight is an important one and will be resonating for decades and effecting generations - To put a finer point on it: this one is for you and those you love.

If you are unsure where you stand, go here for the debate. If you are not sure who to write, go here to get the correct cage to rattle. If you don’t know what to write, consider what not writing anything could ensue - then open a notepad on your computer and look here for a simple outline.

Be polite. Be heard. Be a part of history in clarifying your support for the Unites States as a responsible, caring and compassionate government for its citizens. Let’s show ourselves, our children and the world that we can follow through with what we swooned and swore over last fall. I am going to post what I have written to my Congress on this matter on Thursday, August 20^th and send the link to As Time Goes By . Ronni Bennett of TBG wants to try a show of force on the internet that one day. I don’t suspect what I write will be the most the eloquent thing I’ve ever written because I’m a bit shy about politics, frankly, but I’m passionate about freedom and liberty for all and I suspect that counts. If you blog, you can share your letter there, too.

Also, in truth, I’m about ready for another wave of that heady feeling of our November win. How about you? Well, it did not happen because it was left to gravity. It happened because we collectively held up the sky.