countdowntohealthcare.com

It’s time to reset the clock on health care.  A couple of months ago, we set the countdown to enact a true public health care option at Thanksgiving.

The holiday has come and gone.  We’re definitely closer, but we’re not there yet.  We got a bill through the House, but the debate over abortion and continuing opposition by a few senators to a true public option has delayed real action in the Senate.

That’s why we’ve put the clock at January 1, 2010.  The battle for a real public option isn’t over.  We’ve had important victories, but now the homestretch begins.

Let’s use the next month to tell the Senate why we need them pass a public option by the New Year.  It’s time to put an end to the delays, and make 2009 the year we achieved real health care reform.

Anthony

We scored a big victory Saturday night when the Senate put together just enough votes to open up debate on a health care bill that includes a public option.  But now the real work begins.

Independent Senator Lieberman continues to say that he will not support a public option.  Now Democrat Ben Nelson says that he would not stop a Republican filibuster of the bill in its current form and Senator Blanche Lincoln – also a Democrat – says she opposes the bill as written.

You must send a clear message to every Senator that we need a final bill that includes a public option.

Please share our grassroots message on Twitter, Facebook, and over email.

More than 100,000 of you have already spoken.  Victory is in sight, but unless we keep up the pressure, a few voices threaten to block the will of millions.

With your help, we won’t let them.

Anthony

I just signed Rep. Weiner’s public option petition on http://countdowntohealthcare.com to support real health care reform. Will you join me? Please share this message with your friends!

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Join the movement! Tell Congress we want a real #publicoption. Join Rep. Weiner at http://countdowntohealthcare.com – Pls RT! #hcr

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After enjoying a brief moment of triumph for passing a health care bill with a public option in the House, it’s time to get back to work.  We’ve got less than 10 days to go before Thanksgiving and lasting reform to our health system is far from a done deal.

If you didn’t think health prices were skyrocketing, take a look at your next pharmacy bill.  Drug makers are on track to raise prices at the highest rate since 1992, adding $10 billion to annual drug costs.  Last time drug prices rose this fast, we failed to take decisive action.  Let’s not make the same mistake twice.

It should now be clear that the drug makers and big insurance companies have only one interest: profits.  The news of dramatically higher drug prices is a crystal clear example of why we need a public option that will contain costs.  It’s also an example of why a so-called “trigger” public option — which would only kick in if insurance companies fail to bring down costs after a waiting period — could be too late.

Americans are struggling now.  The dangerous rise in health care prices means that we can’t afford to wait.  We need a public option that will contain costs and give people real choices and we need it now.

Anthony

No sooner did we pass health care reform in the House of Representatives than the commentators began predicting it wouldn’t pass the Senate.  Republican Senator Lindsey  Graham even declared it “dead on arrival.”

It should come as no surprise that a Republican senator who has pledged to fight real health care reform would try to stop our progress. What is a shock is that Senator Joe Lieberman is continuing his campaign to kill the public option despite claiming to be concerned about costs.

The public option increases choice, adds competition and, according to the Congressional bean counters, saves more than $100 billion.

I challenged Senator Joe Lieberman to a debate this morning. Check out the video here.

Keep up the pressure, our petition campaign is now targeting the Senate, so get your friends on board.

Anthony

We did it.  It was close.  It was difficult.  The big insurance companies did their best to stop us.  And the small, but loud minority that doesn’t want to contain costs and provide quality, affordable health care to all Americans tried as hard as they could to stand in the way.

But because of you, they did not prevail.  We won the first round when both the House and the Senate decided to include the public option in their final proposals.

Now we’ve won round two.  The House bill that passed today includes a public option.  It doesn’t have everything I want, but is more than many thought possible.

Get ready for round three. Next, the Senate must pass its bill.  If you thought the big insurance companies were desperate before, now they’re on the ropes, fighting for their lives.

We can’t give up.  We’re one step closer to victory.  And we discovered today that you can speak more loudly than the opposition.

Let’s grow even louder.  Let’s get more than 100,000 names on the petition by the time the Senate calls for a vote.  You will be heard.

Anthony

Saturday is usually a sleepy day on Capitol Hill. But not today. Today is the day we hope to pass the first of three tests on the way to historic health care reform.

If the health care bill passes the House today, then we will need the Senate to act. After that, a conference committee made up of Representatives and Senators will merge the House bill and the Senate bill.

But as we move closer to victory, the health insurance industry will only get more desperate, and ramp up their own efforts to block this process. This week, a few thousand Tea Partyers were bussed in by the industry to try to stop our work. (They arrived with some of the most vile signs you can imagine, but that is for a separate post.)

The end game has also attracted anti-immigrant and anti-choice elements to the debate. As a result, we expect the vote is going to be very, very close.

Here’s how you can help: add the link for this site to your Facebook profile, Tweet it, and circulate it as widely as possible.

I’ll make sure your voice is heard when I present our petition to Speaker Pelosi today and wave the 89,772 names in the front of every undecided Member of the House of Representatives.

And remember to work the phones. Members of Congress are all working today. Let them hear from you. The number to the Congressional switch board is 202-225-3121. If you get a busy signal, don’t be discouraged. Keep dialing.

Anthony

I just signed Rep. Weiner’s public option petition on http://countdowntohealthcare.com to support real health care reform. Will you join me? Please share this message with your friends!

Join the movement! Tell Congress we want a real #publicoption. Join Rep. Weiner at http://countdowntohealthcare.com – Pls RT! #hcr

Republicans just can’t come to terms with a simple fact: Americans want a public option.

First it was John Boehner, who said that he hadn’t heard of “anyone” who supported a public option.  Well, 60,000 of you and counting proved him dead wrong.

Now Republicans are calling for a rally to disrupt Congress, block the Democratic health care proposal, and obstruct the will of the American people.  They say they want to “scare” us into backing down.

Is that the democracy Republicans believe in?  One ruled by fear?

I will stand up to this mob, but I need your help.  These tactics didn’t work during town hall meetings last summer, and they won’t work now.

Let’s answer this crowd with a powerful voice for change.  For every one person who joins the Republican attempt to derail the public option, let’s find five people to sign our petition in support of the public option.

Maybe there are still a few people who watch Fox News and think that high costs and poor health care are a good thing.  But I’m willing to bet there are a lot more of you who are sick and tired of insurance companies caring more about profits than health care.  More of you who want to see real cost containment and real choices.

How can you join us?

First, you can sign my petition and stand up for the public option.  Then, head over to Facebook and post this message:

I just signed Rep. Weiner’s public option petition on http://countdowntohealthcare.com to support real health care reform. Will you join me? Please share this message with your friends!

Finally, jump onto Twitter and send this Tweet:

Join the movement! Tell Congress we want a real #publicoption. Join Rep. Weiner at http://countdowntohealthcare.com – Pls RT! #hcr

With your voice, I know we will beat their mob any day of the week.

Anthony