No one has to tell you that our healthcare system is broken. We all know it. We already live it. We pay too much in premiums, we are denied care, and hundreds of thousands of us can't afford insurance at all.

Thankfully, there is a solution just within our grasp. Governor Rendell has proposed sweeping legislation to solve the healthcare crisis in Pennsylvania, insure more than 275,000 uninsured people, and give the state the power to keep down your premiums and costs to employers.

This plan - called PA ABC - passed the House this year, but is now stuck in the Senate, blocked by the Republican Party leadership.

We can pass healthcare reform this fall. It is within our grasp. But Governor Rendell needs your help.

Here's how you can help pass healthcare reform:

1. Call your State Senator and express your strong support of SB 1137 and HB 2005. (More information is below.)

2. Volunteer to make phone calls, and reach out to other Pennsylvanians.
Phone-banking in Philly starts this week:
Wednesday, August the 20th, 5:30 to 8:30
Thursday, August 21st, 5:30 to 8:30
Wednesday, August 27th, 5:30 to 8:30
At the Philadelphia Unemployment Project. Location is 112 N. Broad Street, 11th St.

Please sign up to make a few calls at 215-888-8036 or emailing hm@seiupa.org.

3. Tell your family and friends, and encourage them to call.

4. Get in touch with the coalition. We have many opportunities to volunteer, across the state. Please call Hannah Miller at 215-888-8036 today, or email hm@seiupa.org.

5. Come to one of our forums around the state. Information:
http://www.pahealthaccess.org/calendar/events/index.php

Health care is a human right. By working hard together, we can create a system that works for everyone.

Thank you.
Pennsylvania Healthcare Access Coalition
www.pahealthaccess.org

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Here are the State Senators from Philly:
http://www.seventy.org/quick-links/elected-officials/philadelphia-state-...

These bills (Senate Bill 1137 and House Bill 2005) would:

• Provide affordable, insurance for individuals and small businesses. The cost would be based on ability to pay. If a family of four makes less than $42,000, the cost for an adult will be no more than $60 a month. Premiums for higher income families will be no more than $310 monthly. This insurance coverage which would provided by a public program that is privately administered and would be available to individuals, small business people and farmers, the self-employed. Employers could provide it to their employees if the the average wage is less than $15 an hour.
• Protect Pennsylvanians from unfair and discriminatory treatment by health insurance companies. Insurers today increase premiums and deny coverage to people with pre-existing illnesses or injuries. Under HB 2005, insurers could no longer do that or charge more to older people or to women of child bearing age.
• Drive down health system costs for everyone even those who have insurance now. Almost seven percent of insurance premiums today go to pay for the health care of the uninsured who today get expensive treatment in hospital emergency rooms and are often hospitalized because they can’t get preventive care for chronic diseases. Insurance companies would be limited in the amount of premium revenue they spend on profits, lobbying, advertising and administration. And the insurance commissioner could require insurance companies to pass costs savings on to consumers.