Deadline Approaching: Call Your Members of Congress

Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will vote on the deficit-reduction plan proposed by Representative Ryan of Wisconsin. As you know -- as indicated by the many links to the many articles I've posted about this in the past few days -- Representative Ryan's plan would:

1. Eliminate Medicare as we know it, instead providing seniors with a voucher that they can use to purchase private insurance. If the voucher doesn't cover the full cost, the consumer has to come up with money. And then there are deductibles and copays and coinsurance, all of which will be far more expensive for consumers than Medicare as we know it.

2. Eliminate Medicaid as we know it, instead providing states with block grants to use however they will. That means that there's a limit on what states can expect to receive from the federal government, no matter how sick people get and how much their health care costs.

If you are poor, a senior, or if you are disabled, this will affect YOU.

The House will vote tomorrow, and they probably will pass the proposal. But that's a far cry from a done deal; it still has to get past the Senate and the President, who has vowed to veto it if it reaches his desk.

So what you have to say matters. Don't assume that your member of Congress is safe -- or that there's no hope of changing their views. You have a right to be heard, so speak up.

To reach your member of Congress, call 1-888-876-6242.

If you don't know who your Senator is, look here. If you don't know who your Representative is, look here.

Say NO to ending Medicare and Medicaid as we know them. There are other ways to cut the debt (like ending the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy, as one example). Tell Congress not to do it on the backs of the poor, the middle class, and seniors.

Thanks. Jennifer