Call to Action!

Hey Feministing Community!

(Bear with me for the informational part of this post… what you can do to help will come at the end.)

I’m sure a lot of you already know about Raising Women’s Voices, a small non-profit that works to get quality and affordable healthcare for all women and our families. We are based in NYC but have regional coordinators across the country and have held a number of speak-outs, having women with poor (or no) insurance share their stories.

We have all heard stories of women without insurance who suddenly get sick or injured and run up thousands of dollars in debt, or women who cannot get covered for the type of birth they would prefer to have, or women who believe they have comprehensive coverage, but get dropped when they get really sick and need their insurance the most. We also know that women are charged premiums at a much higher rate than men, partly because we use our insurance more, and oftentimes simply because we are of child-bearing age.

Raising Women’s Voices works to ensure real women’s stories are heard while working to change policy to provide comprehensive coverage for all women.

As I’m sure you can imagine, things are pretty intense right now, with health care reform in sight, but conservatives working hard to spread confusion at the least, outright lies at their worst. Last night (September 10th) we held a myth-busting session to dispel some of the rumors that pervade the health care reform debate. We heard from Alice Berger of Planned Parenthood NYC, and Tim Foley from NYC for Change among others, who assured us that there are no such things as death panels and that health care reform will not hurt small business owners.

And in his speech on health care reform, President Obama stressed the urgency of health care reform and re-centered the debate on the benefits it will bring. He also highlighted that it’s not simply the uninsured that have something to gain from reform: "But the problem that plagues the health care system is not just a problem for the uninsured. Those who do have insurance have never had less security and stability than they do today. More and more Americans worry that if you move, lose your job, or change your job, you’ll lose your health insurance too. More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or won’t pay the full cost of care. It happens every day."

What we need from you, feminist activists, is to make a call to action. Over the next few weeks we need you to let your representatives know that you care about women’s health, and are committed to seeing reform to our current system. Let your representatives know that we need reform that meets the needs of women, our families, and our communities.

See here for Raising Women’s Voices talking points, and give your representaties a call at 1.800.828.0498 with a sample phone script:

"I am glad that Congress has taken up the issue of health reform. I’m a constituent and I’m calling to let you know that I support reform that has strong public health and prevention provisions, and would provide coverage to the un-and under-insured and offer consumers the option of choosing a ‘public plan’ for health insurance coverage. I support reform that includes comprehensive women’s health care, and makes sure that we all get the care and services we need. I urge Sen./Rep. ___________ to work to pass affordable, comprehensive health reform legislation, that meets the needs of women their families, this year."

Now, more than ever, our voices are needed. Now is the time for us to continue to raise our voices for quality, affordable health care for ALL.