Health care: Senate vote TONIGHT!

URGENT: Key Senate vote on health care TONIGHT! It's time to take our biggest step forward on health care in decades. Send a message to your senator now! Dear Supporter, Late tonight, the Senate is set to hold its most important vote on health care to date. It is the first in a series of key procedural votes that will need 60 votes to clear. And it's going to be tough. We're nearing the end of a difficult road. We know the Senate bill in its current form falls short of the ideal we've all been working for these past months. We, and others in the faith community, still have deep concerns, particularly when it comes to affordability for low-income families...so why are we asking you to take action now? Simple. We just couldn't tell the 30 million uninsured Americans who will gain coverage under this bill to wait any longer. For three decades, we've been holding out for a better health care deal [1]. During that time, hundreds of thousands of our brothers and sisters have filed for bankruptcy or even died because they lacked adequate health insurance. For too long we have tolerated a system that consistently turns its back on those our faiths call us to care for most. This bill will change that. While not perfect, the bill contains several important measures that will dramatically improve upton the health care status quo [2]. The Senate legislation: Prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions or canceling coverage if you get sick. Ensures that you won't lose your coverage if you lose your job. Curbs increases in premium costs. Adds consumer protections like requiring insurance companies to spend 85 cents of every dollar they receive on care, instead of administration and profits. Provides premium assistance for low- and middle-income families. This is more than we've ever done to make health care affordable for all American families, but we still need your help to make it happen. Contact your senator today: We can't wait any longer for reform. As frustrating as the negotiating process has been, as angry as we are with the insurance companies and grandstanding legislators, at the end of the day, we believe this bill is about giving 30 million more of our friends and neighbors peace of mind, and in some cases, a lifeline. They've waited long enough. Please write your senator today. Thank you for all you do, Beth, Katie, Dan, Kristin and Jennifer The Faithful America Team PS: Help us continue our work on health care reform and other important issues in 2010. A generous donor has agreed to double any gift to Faithful America now through Dec. 31st! Please help us pass fight for health reform in 2010 and have your gift doubled today! Sources: [1] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/18/AR2009121803506.html [2] http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/health-reform/at-a-crossroads.pdf Click here to unsubscribe All content © 2008 Faithful America 1101 Vermont Avenue, 9th Floor Washington, DC 20005