This morning, I was looking glumly down at the extra 5 pounds on my scale thinking... Diet? Exercise? And then it came to me. No! This January, America's families need to throw our weight around and that extra 5 pounds is going to come in handy!

Right now, each Congressional Representative is compiling a list of their priorities for the final healthcare reform bill to submit to their leadership and we need to WEIGH in!

Tell your Representatives and the leaders of Congress that the final healthcare reform bill must ensure affordable and reliable healthcare coverage for all children and families.

http://action.momsrising.org/cms/letter/action_967/

What's happening?

Starting this week, leaders of Congress are meeting to resolve the differences between the healthcare bills passed by the House and the Senate. While both bills will prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, there are major differences between the bills, especially regarding key issues of affordability for both children and adults.[1] Many key issues are still up for debate and the decisions being made now will have long term consequences for our families' budgets and access to healthcare.

Now is the time to throw our weight around! Tell your Representatives and Congressional leadership that we need affordable and reliable healthcare coverage for all kids and families.

http://action.momsrising.org/cms/letter/action_967/

What provisions of the final healthcare bill will be key to affordability?

* Subsidies for healthcare coverage must be sufficient to make healthcare truly affordable for women and their families;
* Gender rating (charging women more for insurance based on their gender) must be prohibited for all insured groups;
* Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding must be extended for at least two years to ensure that children can keep their CHIP coverage during a critical transitional period when health reform is just getting off the ground;
* Creation of a national public health insurance option and national insurance exchange.

Don't forget to send a letter to your Congressional Representatives and Congressional leadership now, while they're negotiating:

http://action.momsrising.org/cms/letter/action_967/

Just think! If we can achieve real healthcare reform, losing that five pounds will be a piece of cake. (Hey, did someone mention cake?) And be sure to pass this message on to your friends and family! Together, we can achieve real healthcare reform.

[1] http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm