As the Organizing for America Health Insurance Reform Bus Tour rolled through Des Moines, they were greeted by a welcome sight: hundreds of Iowans with "Thank You" signs waiting to greet those driving the bus for health insurance reform. With around 500 people in attendance, including members of SEIU Local 199, our activists proved their dedication by showing up to support the cause.

Watch the Health Insurance Reform NOW bus roll into Des Moines:

Mike Maday visited the CO congressional delegation with the Change that Works Colorado group to discuss why he thinks we need health care reform now. Watch the video above to see what kind of reception he received, and sign up here to show your support for a public option.

There's a ton of stuff happening in Washington, DC this week in the movement to win health care reform. Below is a snapshot of what's going on, to help you keep track of everything that's happening during this crucial time period.

I've been asking, over the last couple of weeks, what people are doing about health care reform. Tonight, I attended a house meeting hosted by a nurse, Mike Kingsbury, in his home in Denver.

I've gotten to know Mike fairly well - he's one of SEIU's grassroots lobbyists. Before he was a lobbyist, though, he was a trauma nurse. In that capacity, he's seen some of the worst casualties anyone working in a hospital can see. It was in that capacity, too, that he realized the need for health care reform.

"I started with 4 patients; soon, 4 became 6, 6 became 8 - and I found that I had no time to give them the care they needed. I told my supervisor about my concerns, but all she said was that I needed to do a better job."

I heard stories from some of the other people in the room - but I was drawn to a woman sitting quietly in the corner. When the group broke to write letters to their senators, I followed her and asked her if I could talk to her.

Jenny spoke softly.

"I've been friends with Mike for a long time. I'm a graphic designer, and I've been self-employed for a little while," she said. "I've had health insurance for most of my life, but because I'm an self-employed businesswoman, I've had to depend on my husband's health coverage. Recently, though, he was laid off. We've had to depend on COBRA because of that - turns out that paying a third of the COBRA costs is cheaper than paying for private health insurance. The fact that the Administration has to subsidize COBRA [because of the current economy] is unfortunate. I think that everyone should have basic health insurance, and that's why I'm here tonight."

That's what Jenny is doing about health care reform - what are you doing? If you want to know more and do more, sign up at our Facebook page, and keep following along at our state page.

Finally, tonight, join health care activists across America in a conversation about health care with Sen. Chris Dodd at 6 PM ET / 4 PM MT. If you want to know more about where legislation and health care reform are headed in Congress, this is the call to be on.

Pennsylvania State Legislators Sen. Vincent Hughes, Sen. Michael O'Brien, and Rep. Cohen signed onto a letter along with 700 state legislator from every state, to the President, HHS Secretary Sebelius and leaders of Congress, asking them to support key ingredients for real health care reform. Today, a delegation of legislators from around the nation will be on Capitol Hill to meet with the White House and deliver the letter.

State legislators are at the forefront of good health care reform with states like Pennsylvania looking for ways to implement health care reform through mechanisms like Prescription for Pennsylvania.

From the letter:

Key priorities for reform are reflected in recent state initiatives and public opinion polls which show that Americans want more choices and options for quality health care. Americans recognize that the private sector alone has proven incapable of creating a high-quality, fair, and accountable health care system that works for all families. Therefore, a key priority for reform is the choice of a public health insurance plan that is available to businesses, individuals, and families.

These are elected officials who have been legislating on health care reform for years, and have a keen understanding of how burdensome our broken health care system is for state budgets and for people's pocketbooks.

Read the entire letter being delivered on the Progressive State Network's website. You can find a list of Pennsylvania state legislators after the jump.

Nearly 100 doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals gathered Friday in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in support of quality, affordable health care for all.

Two hundred and thirty-two years ago, our nation's leaders came together in this same spot to affirm certain inalienable rights: the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

These days, though, far too many Americans are denied their pursuit of happiness, grappling with a health care system that obstructs the vision outlined in the Declaration of Independence.

Watch Dr. L. Toni Lewis, resident physicians from the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare and other health care professionals explain why they're rallying for health care reform in Philadelphia this weekend.