In Massachusetts, 98% of the people already have good insurance, and insurers can’t deny people based on pre-existing conditions.  It’s time the rest of the United States had the same access to good, affordable care.  Here in Texas, 6.1 million of us have no insurance, and one in 3 working-age adults and one in 5 children are uninsured.

We need real leadership from the President and Congress to get the job done, and pass reform to make decent, affordable health care available for every American.

It is especially important that we generate an overwhelming number of calls to Congress this week to pre-empt the large-scale, anti-health reform rally and lobbying being planned to take place in Washington, D.C. this weekend.

1. Use this toll-free number to reach the Capitol switchboard: 1-800-828-0498.
2. Request to speak with your member of Congress (visit http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ and enter your ZIP code to find out who represents you in Congress).
3. Let your representative know that health care can’t wait and that you want Congress to pass comprehensive health care reform this year!
4. Please forward this message to your contacts and post on your social networking profiles.

1. Make three calls:
•    On July 7th and 8th please CALL 1-866-210-3678 to tell your members of Congress: “WE NEED NATIONAL HEALTH REFORM THAT DELIVERS AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE, QUALITY COVERAGE TO ALL TEXANS THIS YEAR.”
•    This service will only connect you to one member of Congress at a time.  In order to reach all of your members, please make this call three times, making sure to speak with the office of your member in the House of Representatives and Senators Cornyn and Hutchison.  To find who represents you visit this link and type in your zip code next to “Find Your Officials.”

2. COPY, PASTE and SEND this message to all of your lists and contacts

3.  POST this alert on your Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter accounts

4. TEXT the following to everyone in your phone’s address book:
“Call 1-866-210-3678 to tell your members of Congress “WE NEED NATIONAL
HEALTH REFORM THAT DELIVERS AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE,
QUALITY COVERAGE TO ALL TEXANS THIS YEAR!”

ADDITIONAL HELPFUL INFORMATION

•    In Texas, our insurance premiums have risen ten times faster than our incomes in the last decade
•    The average group family premium in Texas is about $13,000 a year, which is out of reach for low-income working families.
•    But millions of Texans can’t even buy insurance at the average rate: under Texas’ weak regulations, employers today with fewer than 50 workers are paying up to $22,000 a year to cover just one employee!
•    Our 2009 Texas legislature has failed to pass bills to significantly improve coverage for our 1.5 million uninsured children
•    Ethnic and racial health disparities in Texas are severe, with Hispanics comprising nearly 60% of our uninsured population, though they make up just 38% of all Texans.

Texas Voice for Health Reform Principles
Texas Health Fact Sheet
CPPP’s Texas Health Care Primer

President Obama’s budget proposal, now being debated in Congress, includes a down payment of $634 billion for health reform over the next 10 years.  The President needs Congress’ support to make it a reality.  Texas Voice for Health Reform urges you take a moment today to call your representatives in Washington, D.C. asking them to support and build on the President’s commitment to healthcare reform. Use our talking points to frame your discussion, and let Kymberlie (quongcharles@cppp.org) know how it goes!

Your member in Congress through the U.S. Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121.  If you’re not sure who represents you, visit the House of Representatives website and input your address–it will give you the name of your congressperson (and take you to their email form).