Health care reform affects all of us, and our work in rural communities in the last year have shown us at the Center for Rural Affairs that many of our friends, neighbors and colleagues have stories to share. We have written about them on occasion on this blog in fact. But sometimes, we need a little more inspiration to act. Allies of ours have gathered video testimonies of Nebraskans in need of (and in some cases, desperate for) health care reform. All of them have a compelling story to share.

There's Clint, a young farmer from Fullerton who hopes he and his wife don't get sick; Rick, a small business owner from Lincoln who talks about the moral implications for providing health insurance as he struggles to provide coverage for his 30 employees; Kathy, a single mother from Hastings with a disabled child; Frank, a waiter from Omaha making less than $1000 a month who had to pay hundreds for an accidental cut; and Center for Rural Affairs board member and rancher Jim Knopik from Belgrade who laments the friends and neighbors without insurance and the $15,000 he pays a year for insurance.

Check out Jim's story below:

What will you do to stand up for health reform that works for rural communities?

Consider writing a letter to your Senators and urge them to stand up for rural voters in your state. If you live in Nebraska, Iowa, or Montana, or western Wisconsin click on your state to see where to send a letter. If you don't live in one of those states, click here to find your members of Congress and be sure to send to their offices in your state. When you write, consider including the following talking points:

• Health care coverage must be affordable, accessible, and available to everyone
• A public plan option - one that consumers can choose if they want to - is necessary to achieve coverage for all
• Reform that includes meaningful options for small business and the self-employed will bolster entrepreneurship
• Over 80% of rural counties are medically underserved, so reform must include new incentives for rural health professionals
• Disease prevention and promoting health in rural communities must be enhanced
• Talk about your own experience with health care, or the importance of health care reform to your community.  

Let us know when you write so we can keep track! Our goal is 100 letters per state. Can you help us reach it?