My wife Debi Clifford wrote this today to our two senators (Feinstein and Boxer) and our newly elected Representative, John Garamendi. It’s easy enough to sign the form letters and petitions but she’s been wanting to find time for a while to write this one that gives her own experience. Here are links for writing your own personal emails to your Representatives and Senators, and some guidelines for how to do it. If you want to snail mail the letter, do it to their offices in their home state, not to Washington, where mail to Congress is subject to all kinds of security delays.

Dear Congressman Garamendi

PLEASE SUPPORT THE PUBLIC OPTION and do not support the trigger proposal. A public healthcare option is the fastest way to put this economy back on track–despite the huge financial investment required. This is a long-term economic stimulus plan that will put money DIRECTLY into the pockets of hard-working Americans and greatly reduce the horrifying financial impact of rising health care costs—especially for the massive numbers of under- and unemployed throughout the country.

As someone who has been unemployed twice in the last two years, I can tell you how awful it is to have your health care tied to employment which suddenly vanishes. When I was laid off, I had to move to unaffordable COBRA–and didn’t qualify for the federal subsidy because of the regulation’s technicality that I was ineligible for the subsidy because I was eligible for my spouse’s (even MORE unaffordable) health care plan. This forced me to go with COBRA and switch to the least expensive plan I could that would allow me to stay with my current providers during a period of major health problems.

PLEASE DELINK HEALTH CARE FROM EMPLOYMENT and ensure that all Americans can access affordable health care.

Thank you.

All the best,

Debi Clifford

Note: my health care plan, through Tikkun, was even more unaffordable because it’s a good plan (thank you, Michael Lerner) but for that very reason it’s expensive to add a spouse to it.