Head on over to Change.org for an update on health care organizing at the Center. Here's an excerpt of the latest post:

In a packed church sanctuary last week, 250 constituents of Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI, 3rd) gathered in Eau Claire, WI to listen to story after heartbreaking story – people with health insurance and without, folks with diabetes and other chronic diseases, small business owners, farmers and nurses. One woman who brought tears to my eyes as she told us how her son died while two insurance companies fought over who would pay for his cancer treatment.

It cemented for me what I have known for some time – fixing health care is an issue that unites all of us, because everyone needs a doctor at some point and every time they do, they are reminded how broken beyond repair our current system is. It is time we did something drastic about it.

As a rural policy organizer with the Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons, Nebraska, it is my goal to make sure our legislators in Washington, DC hear the voices of rural residents and champion solutions to uniquely rural health care problems as they craft the forthcoming reform. It is a job I am proud to do, because there are too few advocates pushing for the needs of America’s 50 million rural residents.

Rural America faces challenges because it has a population that is more self-employed and has less access to affordable health care options. There are fewer health care providers willing to locate in rural areas, and there is a lack of many vital elements of care, such as emergency services and mental health care. All Americans - regardless of their location - deserve health care reform that works for everyone and doesn't pad the pockets of insurance corporations.

Read the rest of the post and see what you can do to raise your voice for health care that works for rural America.