HEALTH CARE *ACTION ALERT*

Dear Health Care Activists,

With the Senate Finance Committee passage of the Baucus bill, health care reform has reached a critical point. Senator Harry Reid and a small committee, including White House representatives and the Senate Finance and Health Committee chairs, will meet behind closed doors to reconcile the two Senate committee bills. We need to barrage Senator Reid and the White House today with letters and phone calls for a strong public option.

Senator Kay Hagan's positition not secure. She needs to continue to hear from us as well.

Here are the addresses and phone numbers.

Senator Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader. 202-224-3542 and 877-264-4226; 528 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510; http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

President Barack Obama. 202-456-1111 and 202-456-1414; The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500; http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Senator Kay Hagan. 202-224-6342, 877-264-4226, 919-856-4630, or 336-333-5311; 521 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510; http://hagan.senate.gov/?p=contact

Please write or phone Senator Reid and President Obama today with the message that we need a strong public option that is inclusive, affordable, cost-effective, and competitive. Call or forward this note to 10 friends and relatives, asking them to do the same. The health care industry is pulling out all the stops to weaken reform and preserve its profits. Only a great groundswell of public activism can ensure the real reform the country needs.

Contact Diane Robertson at dianerobertson9@gmail.com or 919-219-1600 to join the phone bank at Weaver Street Reality on Main Street in Carrboro. And get the word out to the larger community with letters to the editor; see the attached document for addresses.

Thank you.

Jack Sanders and Miriam Thompson for the Health Care Working Group

Remaining steps to a health reform bill

Senate

Closed-door reconciliation of bills from the Senate Finance and Health Committees into a single bill.

Debate on the Senate bill and several amendments (including single payer and strong public option) that will be offered by progressive Democrats.

Cloture vote to shut off debate in the Senate.

Vote on the Senate bill.

Final debate and vote on the bill from the Conference Committee.

House

Closed-door reconciliation of bills from the three House Committees into a single bill.

Debate on the House bill and several amendments (including single payer and improvements to the public option) that will be offered by progressive Democrats.

Vote on the House bill.

Final debate and vote on the bill from the Conference Committee.

Conference Comittee

Closed-door reconciliation of the House and Senate bills.

President

Signing the final bill.

Other Resources

http://www.healthcareforamericanow.org for ongoing analysis of bills

http://www.pnhp.org or www.healthcare-now.org for following the single payer amendments to be introduced in the House and Senate after the committee bills are reconciled