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LIVESTRONG Leaders Meet with Senators on Healthcare Reform

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On October 2, 2009, LIVESTRONG asked Americans to sign a petition during the health care reform debate on Capitol Hill telling Congress to ensure that Americans:

? Won?t be denied health insurance coverage based on pre-existing conditions
? Won?t lose their insurance due to changes in health or employment

We obtained close to 75,000 signatures in support of these basic principles. Over the past weeks, LIVESTRONG Leaders across the country have delivered the signatures collected on our Healthcare Reform Petition to the offices of their U.S. Senators. This was a great opportunity for our Leaders to show the commitment to meaningful reform shared by LIVESTRONG supporters. We thank them for taking this extra step! We asked Leaders to share a little bit about their experience with us. Their stories and photos follow.

?Friday I delivered the LIVESTRONG petition to the state directors of Senator?s Snowe and Collins. The meetings went very well? both Senators fully support the two positions of the LIVESTRONG petition. Gail Kelly, Senator Snowe?s state director, was working from home that day, and we met for coffee at her house!?
-Jeff Bennett, Bangor, Maine

LIVESTRONG Leader Jeff Bennett, with Senator Susan Collins? (R-Maine) State Director, Carol Woodcock.

LIVESTRONG Leader Jeff Bennett, with Senator Susan Collins? (R-Maine) State Director, Carol Woodcock.

?I delivered the petition/signatures to Senator Cornyn’s office this morning. I met Katharine McAden, Deputy Regional Director for Central Texas. She was very thankful that we took the time to visit the Senator’s office in person. This entire experience of delivering such a fundamentally critical message was not just the highlight of my day but added a deeper meaning to my involvement with the LIVESTRONG movement.?
-Cecil Ledesma, Austin, Texas

?I delivered the second set of petitions to Senator Ted Kaufman?s office this afternoon. His State Director, Mr. John Di Eleuterio, spent several minutes talking with me about the issues raised in the health care debate, and assured me that Senator Kaufman fully supports the two main issues raised in the petition.?
-Brad Glazier, Wilmington, Delaware

LIVE<b/>STRONG Leader Brad Glazier with Senator Ted Kaufman?s (D-Del) State Director, John Di Eleuterio.” title=”Brad Glazier Petition” width=”300″ height=”225″ class=”size-medium wp-image-4250″ /> <p class=LIVESTRONG Leader Brad Glazier with John Di Eleuterio, State Director for Senator Ted Kaufman, D-Delaware..



?I delivered petitions to Senator McCain and Senator Jon Kyl’s Tucson offices. I was honored to do this for LIVESTRONG. One staff member shared her mother’s cancer story with me. I told them about my cancer story and how scared I am to leave my job, as I might not get covered for cancer again. Their reactions were positive and I gave them all LIVESTRONG wrist bands.?
-Linda Tarason, Tucson, Arizona

?I had an excellent response from Senator Sherrod Brown’s office. A staff member stated that Senator Brown was “certainly in agreement” with the LIVESTRONG‘s two requests for inclusion in any health bill that is formulated in the Senate. She continued to state repeatedly how amazing it was that someone from the LAF would come over to discuss the issues, etc. She then gave me her business card and offered the Senator’s help??
-Dr. Allen Segal, Lyndhurst, Ohio

LIVESTRONG Leader Bill Throckmorton with aides from the offices of Senators Harkin (D-Iowa) and Grassley (R-Iowa)

LIVESTRONG Leader Bill Throckmorton with aides from the offices of Senators Harkin (D-Iowa) and Grassley (R-Iowa)

Thanks for sharing your stories! We will keep you updated on any further action LIVESTRONG takes with regard to Healthcare Reform.

  • http://chemorocks.blogspot.com Michael Birdsong

    Would it not also be an effective move to present a copy of these petitions to the CEOs of the major health insurance companies, who are blocking any significant change in health care in this country every step of the way?

    The lobbyist in this whole process might also benefit from seeing these petitions.

  • Justin Craver

    Those are both very important principles, which MUST be included in any version of the Health Care Reform our government decides on, however; it should also be of great concern to everyone committed to fighting cancer, that the current reform suggests we greatly cut medical imaging. While this proposed decrease in scans could be moderately beneficial, it is likely to be majorly detrimental. Scans are the number 1 source for finding cancer in the first place.