We the undersigned, in memory of Eric Alexander De La Cruz, urge you - as an elected member of the United States Congress - to vote for and pass health care reform legislation that not only prohibits discrimination or denial of insurance based on preexisting medical conditions, but also includes a widely accessible public insurance option that offers greater affordability for all U.S. citizens and provides needed competition in the insurance industry.
Eric De La Cruz was a young man from Nevada who passed away on July 4, 2009 while awaiting a heart transplant. Suffering from severe dilated cardiomyopathy that had been diagnosed five years earlier, Eric was denied insurance because of this preexisting condition. He would have benefited from legislation making affordable access to health care, regardless of preexisting conditions, a right of all U.S. citizens. Through his struggle, he and his sister Veronica have inspired thousands to demand that strong health care reform bill, which we will call
Eric's Law, be passed by Congress this year.
More than 45,000 people a year die because of inadequate insurance. Please so not let us down. Please do not let Eric down. Most of all, please do not let millions of uninsured Americans who are counting on you down. Vote to pass health care reform with a public option this year.
