SEIU Healthcare 775NW member and Montana home care worker Pat DeJong has stood alongside Senators in the Capitol calling for healthcare reform.

Her story has inspired activists and leaders about why reform cannot wait.

And Monday, it formed the centerpiece for an op-ed in Roll Call by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

"The DeJongs' story is all too common," wrote Baucus. "Today, the average American family pays more than $13,000 a year for health care coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. If we do nothing, that figure will skyrocket to more than $30,000 a year within 10 years."

[...] "Our bill gives peace of mind to 30 million Americans who currently live without health insurance. We can't afford to squabble over politics or procedure. We must pass health reform, and we must do it soon."

For millions of Americans like Pat, real hope for changing the status quo of the nearly 50 million Americans not having health insurance--of families being able to choose an affordable quality public health insurance plan--is now closer than ever. Read more.