Calling Gov. Richardson and All Legislators: Required Reading

As we head towards another New Mexico Legislative Session, the repetitive message we hear coming from our Governor and most of our Legislators is that they can't support universal healthcare coverage under the Health Security Act because (fill in your own answer). I want every single one of them to read this letter. Read it carefully. Read it with an open mind and heart. Try to connect with the human being behind the letter, rather than perceiving her as another lifeless, abstract statistic. Try to remember her when you are tempted once again to concoct a getaway plan you can use to avoid the truth, the facts, the real suffering, the deaths and the poverty you are causing by failing to act in a meaningful way to solve this problem.

I don't care how hard it is. I don't care how upset insurance industry profitmakers will get. I don't care what political price you think you will pay. You know in your heart it is necessary, moral and compassionate to act now to achieve universal coverage the only way it is possible and affordable -- via a co-op plan like the Health Security Act or some kind of single-payer plan. If you don't do it, I KNOW you will all pay a political price because I KNOW voters will set out to unseat every single one of you who refuses to do the right thing. This Session. Now. There are lives in the balance and they're in your hands.