Today, some time after 12pm ET, the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on an amendment to include a public option in their health care bill. Guess what - one of your Senators sits on the committee.

We can't lose this debate. Will you call your Senator? Dial 1-866-311-3405 and you'll be given talking points before being connected to your Senator's office. After you make the call, use this form to report-back.

The public health insurance option is a key component to meaningful reform. It will lower costs, introduce real competition, and serve as a check on insurance company greed. Without a public option, we'll be required to purchase health coverage from the same companies who brought us pre-existing conditions, unlawful rescission and denial of coverage.

Dial 1-866-311-3405 and urge your Senator to support a public option.

I know it's not the first time you've been asked to make a call, and it certainly won't be the last. But we can't grow bored of this fight. We can't lose sight of the goal - that every American has quality, affordable health care coverage.

The weeks ahead will be critical for winning provisions like a public health insurance option. Thank you for continuing to keep the pressure on - we can't afford to let up now.

President Obama has said that in order to keep insurance companies "honest" and reduce costs, we must provide Americans with the option of a public health insurance plan. On Thursday, he reaffirmed his support for offering a public insurance option.

"I continue to support a public option; I think it is important," said President Obama during last week's national healthcare forum, which was viewed online by thousands of SEIU members and millions of concerned Americans from across the country.

Standing in front of a banner that read "Health Insurance Reform Now," President Obama asked supporters of reform to help "cut through the noise and misinformation." He described the public option as setting a benchmark for private insurers, who would then respond by shaping their own plans to be competitive.

Check out the full video here:

In the movement to fix health care, we've just entered into a new phase. Health care legislation passed huge hurdles in the House and Senate last week, and experts predict a full vote within weeks. The New York Times declared, "this is a bill worth fighting for," but threats to this legislation appear to be growing with each day.

Because of this, Dr. Howard Dean has issued an emergency conference call on Wednesday, July 22 at 6:30 p.m. ET with nurses and doctors to discuss elements of the House and Senate bills, and how they will impact health care professionals. Most importantly, Dr. Dean wants to talk directly to nurses and doctors about the role they must play during this critical moment.

Are you a nurse or doctor? If so..... Click here to join the call.

In the fight to fix health care, Dr. Howard Dean is a stand-alone figure. A doctor, governor, and currently, a vocal advocate for a public health insurance option--Dr. Dean has brought fresh ideas and leadership to the often stale air of Washington, D.C. For the past year, he's been rallying Americans to band together to fix health care - and now he wants to talk to you.

President Obama recently said, "few understand why we have to pass reform as intimately as our nation's nurses." It's true. We see the emergency room care, the short-staffing of nurses and aides, the burdensome amount of paperwork, and the denial of coverage by insurance companies. We're the eye witnesses to the best and worst of our health care system - and now it's our job to speak up.

With nurses and doctors working together, there's no limit to what we can do. RSVP for this week's call with Dr. Dean: http://action.seiu.org/drdean

On Wednesday as Senator Jeff Bingaman joined his colleagues on the Senate HELP Committee to vote for sending a comprehensive health care bill to the Senate Floor, he was joined by dozens of New Mexico doctors, nurses, and health care providers assembled to show support for a robust public health insurance option in 2009. Seventy-two percent of Americans say they want a public option that competes with private insurance companies and keeps them honest--and that number includes 50 percent of registered Republicans.

"One thing we've learned from our patients is that they don't want the government doing everything when it comes to health care," said Dr. John Winters, an Internal Medicine physician and CIR member. "But they do think government should advocate for them, and that it should set and enforce the rules so that private insurance companies can't put profits before our health."

Senator passes check-up with flying colors! Outside of his Albuquerque district office, the doctors and activists presented the Senator with a "Health Care Reform Check-up," an examination of Sen. Bingaman's progress to date. Based on the positions the Senator has taken in the Senate, the healthcare providers awarded him with a 'clean bill of health.'

"In New Mexico, two insurance companies hold 54% of the market," said Dr. Shadi Battah, an Internal Medicine physician and CIR member. "So it's no wonder that premiums have skyrocketed 92% over the past 7 years. No one's holding their feet to the fire. I want my patients to have a choice between public and private - and I'm glad to see Sen. Bingaman wants to give us the choice as well!"

For months, we've been standing firm on our call for Congress to deliver a health care bill that does a few, simple things. It has to lower health care costs for patients, businesses, and governments. It has to improve the quality of care for patients. And it has to make sure that every American, regardless of who they are or how much money that make, has access to affordable care.

Today, the Senate delivered a bill that meets those goals.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee released the complete version of their health care reform bill this morning. It has all the ingredients needed to finally fix our broken system and give every American quality coverage at an affordable price.

One of the key provisions in the legislation is the inclusion of a strong public health insurance option. It would be accessible to Americans on day one, regardless of where they live. And it's completely voluntary; people who like the plan they have now can keep it, and people who don't have access to affordable health care have the choice of a public health insurance option.

The HELP Committee's bill represents a huge break from politics as usual. Finally, there's legislation in the Senate that holds private insurers accountable and gives working people peace of mind when it comes to health care.

But, already, there are members of Congress trying to water down the bill. They're trying to add provisions that will protect huge profits for insurance companies instead of cutting costs and improving care for patients.

Let's send them a reminder of how much health care costs are hurting us - the people who elected them to office. Send your medical bill to Congress today and tell them to support the HELP Committee's common sense plan for fixing health care.

President Obama is hosting an online discussion this Wednesday, at 1:15 p.m. EDT, on health care reform. He's soliciting questions from people via Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

Below is the President's video introduction to this week's online discussion:

If you're on Twitter, ask a question with this hashtag #WHHCQ. Facebook users can ask questions here. Two hundred and thirty-six (236) YouTube video questions have already been submitted--many of which deal directly with the public health insurance option. Below are a few of our favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1TNyspiNaU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH0zcK8T39Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfl7mDMpruw

Submit your own question via YouTube here.

Congress can't seem to reach a consensus, but the American people have overwhelmingly made up their minds: we need a public health insurance option.

A new poll conducted by NBC and the Wall Street Journal [.pdf] is the latest in a series of polls to show convincing support for a choice between a private or public health insurance plan among the American people:

On the one hand, the American public overwhelmingly favors a choice between getting insurance coverage either through the private market or a government run option. Indeed, 76 percent of respondents said it was either "extremely" or "quite" important to "give people a choice of both a public plan administered by the federal government and a private plan for their health insurance." [From the Huffington Post]

The poll also showed clear majority support for key ingredients to fixing health care like shared responsibility among employers, government, and individuals to solve the health care crisis with strong protections for small businesses. In fact, every major proposal in President Obama's health care plan received strong support.

There's just one problem: many people didn't know it was the President's plan. Despite his aggressive push to pass health care reform, more than a third of all Americans still don't know enough about the President's plan for health care to know whether or not they support it. Once the pollsters described Obama's plan, people supported it overwhelmingly.

So that's where we come in. We've got to tell everyone we know that the President has proposed a strong plan to fix health care and it's moving through Congress as we speak. We're going to discuss the best way to do that tonight on a conference call with Senator Chris Dodd at 6pm EDT.

I hope you'll join us, and I hope you'll help us urge Congress to join the American people in supporting President Obama's plan to solve the health care crisis once and for all.

In his 50 minute address to the American Medical Association today at the group's annual convention in Chicago, President Obama reiterated his strong support for a truly national public health insurance plan, calling the current state of the nation's health care system a "ticking time bomb." Obama declared health care reform an urgent priority, saying "If we fail to act, premiums will climb higher, benefits will erode further, and the rolls of uninsured will swell to include millions more Americans."

As President Obama made his case for a health care system overhaul, he touched on several ways to cut costs we had yet to hear him address within a single public speech: he promoted preventative care instead of disease management and advocated for health IT (specifically, switching from paper to electronic health records). He urged examining inefficiencies in the Medicare program and introducing competitive bidding into the Medicare Advantage program, as well as exchanging doctors' current fee-for-service based pay system for a more outcomes-based system.

Prior to President Obama's AMA address today, doctors and physicians-in-training put out a statement in support of the creation of a public health insurance option signed by eight organizations: CIR/SEIU Healthcare, the Doctors Council, AAFP, AMSA, Doctors for America, NPA and SNMA. The groups--whose members combined represent 215,000 physicians and physicians-in-training--also hosted a conference call with key reporters to express their support for President Obama's goals for healthcare reform. "We believe we need a truly robust, quality public health insurance option," said Dr. L. Toni Lewis, President of CIR/SEIU Healthcare (CIR). "Quality is something I really want to stress here, meaning: our patients would have a public option that provides them with the care they need."

"The thousands of devastating stories of Americans unable to get care can make it feel impossible to practice medicine some days," says NPA President Dr. Valerie Arkoosh. "But these stories also serve to remind us every day of our ethical duties to put our patients' care ahead of insurance companies. Competition provides us with choice and makes our market better--and a strong, national health insurance option would do the same."

"I need your help, doctors"
President Obama told attendees of the AMA conference today that no reform effort could be successful without the buy-in of the nation's doctors, declaring at one point, "The public option is not your enemy, it is your friend." The President also labeled those who call his plan "socialized medicine" naysayers and fear mongers, reassuring his audience that those who claim he is trying to bring about government-run health care are "not telling the truth."

Dr. Nikhil Wagle, cofounder of Doctors of America, says the number one priority for doctors in fixing our broken healthcare system is doing what's best for patients--and this includes the choice to keep the insurance they have or sign up for a robust, public healthcare option. "As doctors, we see the effect of our broken healthcare system and what happens when our patients are denied the care they need," said Dr. Wagle. "It's the real experience with doctors and patients that must be what guides us in this effort towards healthcare reform."

"To say it as plainly as I can, health care reform is the single most important thing we can do for America's long-term fiscal health. That is a fact," said President Obama. Read the transcript of his entire speech here.

Other notable parts of Obama's June 15 speech to the AMA after the break.

In the past few days, our allies in Congress have made serious gains in health care reform. But one thing is still uncertain - whether we'll see a strong, immediate public health insurance option.

President Obama last week indicated that, in order to keep insurance companies "honest" and reduce costs, we must provide Americans with the option of a public health insurance plan.

Now it's time to convince Congress; and the strongest proof that our current health care system is broken is probably sitting on your kitchen table - your medical bills.

What are you spending on health care? Generate your own medical bill online, and send it to Congress: http://medbill.seiu.org

Today, the Senate is working on a plan for health care reform. The public health insurance option needs to be a part of it because it does three things:

• Lowers costs for individuals and families by competing side-by-side with private insurance plans
  
• Sets high standards for quality and accessibility that other plans will strive to meet
  
• Gives Americans more choice in their coverage by offering an affordable alternative to over-priced plans

After 80 years, we finally have the solution to this health care crisis in our sights. Thanks for joining us in our summer-long sprint to the finish line.

Today we are taking time to feature stories of every day Iowans who have struggled because of a lack of quality, affordable health care. Every hour, on the hour, we will feature a new story in the hope that these faces and their struggles persuade Senator Charles Grassley that true reform cannot happen without a public health care plan option, and that quality, affordable health care needs to be available to every Iowan.

Rita Robinson
Marion, IA

I recently lost my job of 11 ½ years and so my only option for insurance is COBRA. COBRA is very expensive, even with the recently passed stimulus. I couldn't afford the premiums without an income so all of my medical expenses, including prescriptions, come out-of-pocket.

Respond to Senator Grassley on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChuckGrassley

Write Senator Grassley and tell him that you want health care reform today:
http://action.seiu.org/page/speakout/24hrs

Today we are taking the day to feature stories of every day Iowans who have struggled because of a lack of quality, affordable health care. Every hour, on the hour, we will feature a new story in the hope that these faces and their struggles persuade Senator Charles Grassley that true reform cannot happen without a public health care plan option, and that quality, affordable health care needs to be available to every Iowan.

Cathy Warner
Des Moines, IA

I knew a woman, Karen Ellis, who lost her job and had to resign from the Broadlawns Hospital Board of Trustees due to health complications with cancer. Karen didn't have health insurance after she left her job. Throughout her cancer treatment Karen had been hospitalized several times. Her potassium levels were fluctuating. She was told she needed to get her potassium levels checked frequently. Costs for this would have been around $900 per test. Karen couldn't afford these expensive tests and had to go without labs.

Just after these complications Karen passed away in her home. I was told that this was probably the cause of death. This was a woman that worked in health care for years, was active in health care issues and was left with no coverage for her necessary lab tests. This just shouldn't be. The worst part is Karen's story is common. Some 22,000 people a year die simply because they don't have insurance to seek proper treatment. People need affordable options besides just employment benefits to secure health care coverage.

Respond to Senator Grassley on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChuckGrassley

Write Senator Grassley and tell him that you want health care reform today:
http://action.seiu.org/page/speakout/24hrs

Today we are taking the day to feature stories of every day Iowans who have struggled because of a lack of quality, affordable health care. Every hour, on the hour, we will feature a new story in the hope that these faces and their struggles persuade Senator Charles Grassley that true reform cannot happen without a public health care plan option, and that quality, affordable health care needs to be available to every Iowan.

Yenchay Tangkhpanya
Mount Pleasant, IA

My husband and I immigrated to Iowa in 1979 from war-torn Vietnam. We've been blessed to reside in the greatest state in the union. My husband has worked in a factory for more than 30 years and I have been a small-business owner for more than 20. My husband is over 60 and suffers from chronic back pain. I want him to quit and work a part-time job where he doesn't have to use his back as much but he stays because he needs the health-care coverage that his employer provides for my family. We can't jump into a private plan because we have pre-existing conditions. If I had the option to buy into a public health plan, it would be one fewer burden on my family.

Iowans deserve to have the same health-care plan that their members of Congress get. I am asking Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa to include this in the health care reform bill coming out this summer, and I am asking my fellow Iowans to follow my lead.

Respond to Senator Grassley on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChuckGrassley

Write Senator Grassley and tell him that you want health care reform today:
http://action.seiu.org/page/speakout/24hrs

Montana's time in the political sun continues, as Sen. Max Baucus' role in national health care reform takes shape. Late last week, Baucus told reporters that he was fairly certain that health care reform with a public insurance option was very likely to be signed into law this year. Baucus, chairman of the pivotal Senate Finance Committee, also said the reform must ensure that reform provided something close to universal coverage.

In a recent article by the Swampland blog for the online Times Baucus said a health care system for everybody is close:

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, speaking to reporters this morning at a breakfast sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, sounded extraordinarily optimistic about the prospects for bipartisan support of the health care reform bill that his committee will begin writing in mid-June. "Very high. Very, very high," he said, saying he puts the odds at 75-80%. ....

... Will the bill provide universal coverage? It has to come pretty close, Baucus said, if all the other reforms are going to work. Most health care experts agree. By "nearly everybody," Baucus added he was talking about something like 96% of all Americans.

Even as the scheduled date for the introductions of bills gets close, specific elements of Baucus' reform package have remained somewhat elusive. His office produced a white paper late last year. Since then, health experts and an anxious public have hung on every word from Montana's senior senator.

Earlier this year, Baucus said a public health insurance option was on the "edge" of the table, suggesting that he was considering, but not endorsing, an idea that is embraced by the public and experts but which the insurance industry has argued vehemently against.

Last week, though, Baucus changed his stance, saying he supports "a version" of a public, or government-run health insurance plan.

"I do support a version" of a public option, he told the Washington Times adding that's it's a "hot-button" issue.

Many experts agree that a public health plan option will provide more choices and control health care costs.

Just as Baucus is doing his part, we need to do ours and let him know that supporting a public health care plan option must be a critical part of health care reform. Attend our pancakes breakfast and let Senator Baucus know you care about health care.

The New York Times is out in front with an early endorsement of a public health insurance option as part of any plan to fix health care:

A new public plan - to offer consumers greater choice, keep the private plans honest and, one can hope, restrain the relentless growth in health care premiums and underlying medical costs - seems worth trying.

The editorial does an excellent job of outlining the savings and benefits that would be accrued for both patients and businesses as a result of a public health insurance option. It would cut down administrative costs, reduce premiums, and improve stability of coverage for consumers.

The article also quells anti-reform groups' arguments that a public health insurance option would end employer-based health insurance as we know it. According to the Times, "[i]nnovative, nimble private plans with well-integrated service systems might outperform any government plan, just as some now outperform Medicare through better coordination of services, stronger preventive care and broader benefits."

There's a general consensus that you can't fix health care with one silver bullet. Real reform requires a smart mix of policies that will address issues of access, quality, and cost. But, as the Times points out, a public health insurance option is an essential ingredient.

Look out Washington; there's a new sheriff in town.

The Journal News is reporting that Senator Max Baucus has added another link to the united front that will be pushing health care reform through Washington this year:

[Senator Charles] Schumer said this week he's been asked by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus to serve as the panel's point man supporting the administration on the issue [of a public health insurance option].

"If competition works, why not have a public entity?" said Schumer, a Democrat and New York's senior senator.

Multiple polls have confirmed that the vast majority of Americans support a public health insurance option as part of the plan to fix health care. The benefits to consumers would be substantial:

· Patients would see the exact same doctors for the exact same procedures, but at a much lower cost. By introducing a competing plan to the health care market - as well as the millions of new consumers who would be able to afford coverage for the first time - the public health insurance option would drop costs across the board almost immediately.

· Americans with pre-existing conditions would finally have access to affordable coverage. For decades, one serious illness or chronic condition has sentenced Americans to a lifetime without health insurance. Introducing a public health insurance option into the market would allow those with pre-existing conditions to buy good coverage at a price they could afford. Studies have shown that the cost of insuring those "high risk" individuals would be offset by the millions of young, healthy Americans also purchasing health insurance for the first time. It's the same principle that allows big corporations to pool their insurance risk together and pay much less per employee than their small business counterparts.

· We'd have more choices for health care - not less. Lots of anti-reform groups like to scare Americans into believing that a public health insurance option amounts to a government take over of the health care system. They tell you that, if you have good health care, you're going to lose it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Under the new plan, if you have health insurance that you like - you keep it. Period. The only change you'll see is lower premiums as the increased competition drives down costs for all consumers.

So, if a public health insurance option is a win-win-win for consumers, why is it still controversial on Capitol Hill? The answer, not surprisingly, is money. There's big money to be made in a system that overcharges for health care. And that money is paying for lobbyists that are working around the clock to protect the status quo.

That's where Senator Schumer comes in. During the coming months, as the plans for health care reform unfold, his job is to make sure Congress is looking out for patients and not profits by including a public health insurance option into the mix. Backing him up will be President Obama and the soon-to-be-Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. And, of course, all of us.

A plan that creates more competition, lower costs, and better care - it's so simple and straightforward, only in Washington could it be controversial.