Last night, I attended my first ever site warming party on Twitter. The party was for the Speak Now for Kids website and was it a blast! I got to talk to other moms who are concerned about the state of health care for kids in this country. Most of us agreed that the present state of health care now is severely lacking. For a first world country, one of the richest in the world, U.S. citizens should have a better quality health care that is accessible to all of its citizens, not just the ones who can afford it. I’m sure you’ll hear someone argue that we are still better off than most people of the world. That’s true, but we could be better. We SHOULD BE BETTER OFF.

I have a full time job that provides for health insurance that is probably of even quality with most people who have employee provided health care. You’d think that would be enough, right? WRONG. Even with health, dental and vision insurance, I spend an additional $2000 a year on charges that are not covered by our insurance. Thank goodness for flexible spending accounts or else we’d be scrambling to pay the additional charges everytime the kids go to the dentist or the doctor. Even with insurance, we try to be very conservative about using our benefits; my husband and I especially. We know we’re taking our chances skipping check ups and ignoring some aches and pains just so the kids can go to the doctor whenever they need to. BUT THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY, IN THIS COUNTRY!

We should have a health care system that would take care of us when we need it without having to worry whether we can afford to get better or not. Whether you call it Universal Health Care or any other name, everyone in this country should be able to get decent treatment when they are sick. I say my prayer of thanks everyday that we are healthy because, God forbid, a catastrophic health crisis should happen to us, we would be sunk. Talking with other moms on Twitter last night during the Speak Now for Kids Twitter party, and listening to their stories, especially the ones who have sick kids, it truly worries me how we would handle it should something catastrophic ever happen to us. I cross my fingers, I knock on wood, but I am now also going to be more proactive in ensuring that the proper bills go through Congress that will ensure that my kids and their children would not have to worry about getting decent health care in the future.

The right wing just launched a million-dollar attack on President Obama’s health care plan, scaring people off from a critical provision that could guarantee coverage for every American. If their lies stick, we could miss the biggest chance in a generation to achieve universal health care. The first draft of legislation will be finalized in just two weeks—so we need to fight back right now.
Source: MoveOn.org

Contact your Congressman and mobilize all your friends. Visit the Speak Now for Kids website and champion yours and your children’s needs in health reform.

The video below is a funny parody of the present state of health care. Big businesses are going to lose money with health care reform so they are doing all they can to keep the bill from passing. What are you doing about it?

The video above was produced by Moveon.org. Visit their website to see how you can help.

If you’ve never heard of Speak Now for Kids, you’re not alone. It is a new organization that has been long needed. We parents know what a struggle it is to provide quality health care for our children, even when we have health insurance through our employers. God forbid one of them should get hurt. We will find out real quick how inadequate our current coverage is.

For example, in North Carolina,

Child Health Data – North Carolina

* 31.0% percent of children are enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), compared to 28.2 percent nationwide.
* 11.6% percent of children in North Carolina are uninsured, compared to 11.2 percent nationwide.
* Among children who are uninsured, 75.4% percent are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP. Nationally, 68.4 percent of uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP.
* North Carolina covers children with family income up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level through Medicaid and CHIP. A family of four must make less than $44,100 to be eligible.

Speak Now for Kids in Health Reform is a national campaign sponsored by the National Association of Children’s Hospitals (N.A.C.H.). N.A.C.H. is joined by national partners and supporting organizations from around the country who all care deeply about how children will be treated in health reform. Speak Now for Kids in Health Reform urges parents, family members, health care providers and other advocates to tell Congress why children matter in health reform – through stories, photos and videos.

Speak Now for Kids in Health Reform provides an open forum for the public to express their thoughts and concerns about children and health reform. The opinions expressed on this Web site are those of individuals visiting the site, and do not represent the views of the Web site sponsor, partners or supporters.

Be a champion for children. Take a moment to Speak Now to let Congress know in your own words what you think about children’s health care and share this information with your friends.

source: Speak Now for Kids

Please help spread the word about Speak Now for Kids because if we as parents don’t speak for them, who else?

Here are a few things you can do:
1. If you’re a blogger, please blog about Speak Now for Kids
2. Make a video and submit to the Speak Now for Kids website. The videos will be shown to members of Congress. Ask them to take on our mission to have children’s voices heard when they move forward with health care reform.
3. Join the Site Warming tonight, May 6th, from 9 to 10 p.m. eastern time on Twitter for a #SpeakNowforKids
4. Visit the Speak Now for Kids website and join the cause!