Begging for Change

By Greg Howard 7:25 PM Eastern - June 16, 2009 Campaign for Public Health Insurance Option Highlights Families Forced to Ask for Spare Change When Facing Crippling Health care Costs Send in your pictures to: healthcarecans@gmail.com The Maine Change That Works campaign today launched "Begging for Change," a multimedia effort to highlight Maine families' urgent need for comprehensive health care reform that includes an affordable public health insurance option. Throughout Maine, cans or jars with messages asking for spare change to help a local family facing a health care catastrophe are commonplace at neighborhood convenience stores and gas stations. Mainers also regularly see fliers promoting yard sales, community suppers or other events to raise money for a Maine family that has been devastated by medical bills. "Please support a health plan that is the equivalent of yours--it's only fair. It should allow me to choose my own doctor, it should emphasize preventative care and it should cover everyone," Roxanna of York Harbor wrote to one member of Maine's congressional delegation. "I urge you to support legislation to provide health coverage for all. Allow your constituents to choose from a menu of public or private coverage. Don't fail your fellow Mainers--imagine what it must be like for them," Dorothy, also from York Harbor wrote to another member of the state's delegation. "Nothing could more vividly illustrate the need for health care reform than when members of our community face such staggering health care costs that they must ask their neighbors for financial assistance," said Dr. Wayne Myers, M.D., former Director of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and past President, National Rural Health Association. "It's difficult to overstate how urgent it is for Congress to act to pass legislation that will help Mainers avoid financial ruin when faced with a health care emergency. When you read the messages on these collection cans, you see that these families simply cannot wait." The "Begging for Change" campaign will collect as many of these images as possible and present them to Maine's members of Congress to underscore the need for immediate action on health care legislation that will help Maine families who cannot pay the costs of a health care crisis on their own. A public health insurance option would provide Mainers with a choice - keep the insurance they have if they like it or be guaranteed quality, affordable coverage through a public health insurance plan. Such an option is needed to bring down costs, make coverage affordable, encourage private health insurance companies to compete, and guarantee that quality, affordable coverage will be there for people no matter what happens. "Maine people do not have time to wait for relief from the skyrocketing cost of health care. In this time of economic uncertainty, we need health care coverage to be a sure thing, and that is what the public option brings" said Nicole Witherbee of the Maine Center for Economic Policy. "Every day that we wait, families across our state and our country are forced to delay care and make life-or-death medical decisions, pushing the financial well being of families and the economic viability of our nation into further peril." * View more photos of Mainers 'Begging for Change' and send in your own pictures by emailing healthcarecans.gmail.com. * You can listen to--and download--the mp3 of Portland musician Peter Alexander's original song, "Begging for Change--The Healthcare Blues." Lyrics for 'Begging for Change' after the break. (by Peter Alexander, copyright 2009, www.peteralexander.us) Talking 'bout my health care: My baby has the blues; She needs to see the doctor But the HMO refused. I'm not looking for a handout. That would make me feel ashamed. But since I lost my health care, Brother can you spare me some change? ¬ All my friends are wondering: We look around the world; Everywhere there's public care And the cost is just a third Of what the HMOs are charging. They're on the stock exchange; Their CEOs are millionaires While we're all begging Change. Same old thing in Congress: They've got their feathered nest. THEY'VE got Public healthcare And their healthcare is the best. But we're all out here dying While they play the same old games. I lost my private health care; Brother can you spare me some change? So we're all out here begging. We were promised Change. The HMOs all cost too much; The system is insane. The Corporations' rip us off, They've got it all arranged. 'Til we get friends in Congress. Brother can you spare me some change? I lost my private health care Brother can you spare me some change? 'Til we get friends in Congress. Brother can you spare me some change?