![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunlit_musicHello everyone,
President Obama is trying to reform our broken health care system, which has left more than 45 million Americans uninsured[1] and millions more with insurance that won't provide the treatment they need.[2]
Some in Congress are with Obama. But the insurance industry, with help from Republicans[3] and so-called centrist Democrats,[4] is leading the charge to kill a key part of his plan -- a government-run insurance plan that would increase the number of Americans covered, called the "public option." Industry groups are spending millions -- $35 million in lobbying costs alone[5] -- to convince people that they won't be able to choose their doctor, that government will be making their medical decisions, that they'd be forced to take the government's plan, and that the plan is part of some socialist plot -- all lies. In reality, the insurance industry is trying to protect its enormous profits on the backs of everyday people.
For Black folks, the stakes couldn't be higher: we are twice as likely as Whites to be uninsured, we have more than double the rate of infant mortality, we face more than twice the rate of diabetes-related deaths than Whites -- and the list goes on.[6]
While the fight rages in Washington, our voices are simply not at the table. That's why I've joined ColorOfChange.org in telling Congress that every person in this country should have equal access to affordable health care, regardless of race, income, or any other factor. Will you join me? It only takes a moment:
http://www.colorofchange.org/health/?id=2461-805582
