Update Archive

Email update from 8/11/09

Your efforts are working!

Now that Congress is on their summer recess, many officials are feeling the heat at their local town hall meetings. They are hearing from their own constituents about this travesty called Health Care Reform. You may have seen recent videos or news coverage of town hall meetings where representatives couldn't give good answers to their constituents when asked about the proposed health care takeover.

While support for this bill is waning, the White House is ramping up efforts to regain support. Pharmaceutical companies are poised to spend $150 million to support the President's changes and private insurance providers are now running ads to push the legislation through (read related article). Plus, certain leaders are trying to portray anyone who questions health care as "un-American" (read related article).

The Senate Finance Committee is seeking to build bipartisan consensus on a bill by mid-September - assuming that a government-run plan is not railroaded through Congress when it returns in early September, even though a just-released survey reveals:

* More than 60% of Americans would rather purchase health care from the private sector, compared with 25% who prefer a government-run plan.
* More than 70% of Americans believe reform will add to the deficit despite the President's pledge.
* Two out of three Americans believe they will pay higher taxes because of the proposed reforms.

Between "end of life counseling" for seniors and tax-funded abortions for all, we must continue to keep in front of our representatives to urge them to vote against this version of health care reform, but we should be prepared. AUL has put together a document with suggested questions to ask your representative, sample letters to the editor, myths about health care reform and tips for town hall meetings (download the pdf document here).