How New Mexicans can help the Governor of West Virginia with the Healthcare Issue

I got this email from the Governor of my old home state, West Virginia, today. Governor Joe Manchin wants true life stories about how bad the healthcare problem is all across the country. He wants to make it real for the people in Washington. I wanted to pass this along to my readers so he would have lots of stories from New Mexico, my new home state for the past 20 years, to take with him to Washington. Healthcare is not going to get any better unless the people stand up and make the people in Washington understand that we need affordable healthcare. Our Governor, Bill Richardson, tried to pass healthcare reform but the details stopped the bill in our state. We need a national answer to the national problem of healthcare in this country. Why should any one state have to go it alone?

Dear Mary,

It's no secret that not enough Americans can afford access to quality health care. While the economy suffers, health care costs just keep going up. If you want to know how bad the problem really is, just walk into any American middle-class community, and start asking about health care - folks are struggling, and they're worried it's just going to get worse.

I'm asking you: What's your health care story?

Democratic Governors not only understand how bad the health care problem is, but we're a step ahead when it comes to taking action. Across the country, we are expanding access to affordable health care. Here in West Virginia, for example, we've expanded access for families by creating low-income clinics around the state, improving access to affordable medications, and providing options for folks who change their jobs.

As Chair of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), I want to do more for families across the country. While the DGA has fought hard in Washington, D.C. to increase access to health care, especially for our youngest and most vulnerable citizens, out here in the states, we haven't gotten the help we need - particularly for working Americans.

We're urging you to send your story now because we want your voice calling with ours for more help from Washington for American families. When Democratic Governors go to Washington to work for a stronger health care partnership with the federal government, we want to take your stories with us.

We're issuing an urgent call for your story because we need your help. Tell us how the cost of health care affects your life.

Some folks in Washington just don't understand how tough it is out here in every corner of the country. Your story will help convince them that health care isn't just a topic, a debate, or even a bill in Congress. It's real people who get sick and need help to get better, so they can go back to work or to school.

I believe in the power of stories, and I believe yours can help change the way Washington sees health care.

Please give me your story today.

Yours truly,
Joe Manchin
Governor of West Virginia
Democratic Governors Association Chair