"My dad, at age eighty, had advanced Parkinson's disease...but then my dad fell and broke his hip. We rushed him late at night by ambulance forty-five miles to the University of Minnesota Hospital. "Give me a pill, this is vanity money", my dad told the doctor before surgery. "My dad", I said with tears in my eyes, "wants a pill to end his life. He does not want his meager savings for his grandchildren's college education, which means everything to him to be wiped out by health care costs."

The Center for Medicare Advocacy, established in 1986, is a national non-profit, non-partisan organization that provides education, advocacy, and legal assistance to help elders and people with disabilities obtain Medicare and necessary health care. I chose to intern at the center because the I believe health care is an essential issue that transcends political categories such as right, left and center. Health care is an issue that affects the concerns and circumstances of every American in a massive way.

The writing is on the wall for reform and the environment could not be more ready. Already this summer, the Congress has produced three different proposals for Health Reform: 

• The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee released Sen. Kennedy's (D-MA) draft proposal, the Affordable Health Choices Act on June 9th (read the whole bill here). The Affordable Health Choices Act attempts to improve access to coverage by regulating insurers. The proposal expands Medicaid (to include families who earn up to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level) and S-CHIP. The proposal is built upon establishing state-sponsored insurance Gateways (or exchanges) to help Americans find affordable coverage. Senator Dodd (D-CT) announced on July 2nd that the HELP Committee bill would include a strong, national, public health plan option. 

• The House has also released a draft version of a Health Reform bill with their Tri-Committee Proposal. The current proposal would set up a new Health Insurance Exchange which would allow individuals and small employers to shop among private and public plans. The proposal also provides sliding scale affordability credits, expands Medicaid (to those earning 133% of the Federal Poverty Level) and caps out-of-pocket expenses. Individuals will be responsible for having health insurance coverage, and employers will have the option of providing health insurance coverage for their workers or contributing funds on their behalf. 

• The Senate finance committee, chaired by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), will release its proposal soon.

We must reaffirm our belief in the essential promises of our land of opportunity and press toward the goal of health care for every American. This is our time to fight for our ideals, and our representatives in Congress need to hear our voices! 

Click here to CALL TODAY, help flood the switchboards, and together we can achieve the reform that we're fighting for!