Last week, the Washington Post reported that the healthcare industry is spending a record $1.4 million dollars a day (Yes, a day!) to protect their interests in health reform.[1] Whose interests aren't being protected? Our kids!

While health reform holds great promise in providing more children and adults with affordable and comprehensive health coverage, some legislative proposals now under consideration could result in some children ending up with fewer benefits than they currently have. We need all your voices to stand up for kids!

Tell Congress that health reform must advance, not set back, children's health coverage!

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/t/1878/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27289

What's happening? Congress is thinking about ending the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and moving those 7 million children into a new health insurance exchange [2] created by health reform. We must ensure that this change does not mean that children will have fewer benefits, limits on their benefits in terms of amount, scope, and duration, and higher cost sharing than they currently have.

Don't forget to send a letter to Congress now!

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/t/1878/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27289

We may not have 1.4 million dollars in extra cash to spend every day, but we have the passions, voices, and networks of over a million dedicated MomsRising members. Please forward this message to your friends and families so we can make sure that our kids aren't shut out of the benefits of health reform.

Thanks for your work on behalf of our nation's families.

--Donna, Ashley, Julia, Anita, Dionna, Kristin, and the MomsRising team

P.S. Thanks to our friends at First Focus and National Council of La Raza for their help with this message. For more information on this issue see, http://www.firstfocus.net/pages/3606

[1] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/05/AR2009070502770.html

[2] Current drafts of health reform legislation call for the creation of a health insurance "exchange," a new entity intended to create a more organized and competitive market for health insurance by offering a choice of plans, establishing common rules regarding the offering and pricing of insurance, and providing information to help consumers better understand the options available to them. For more information on health insurance exchanges, see: http://www.kff.org/healthreform/7908.cfm