Unless you simply pay no attention to politics at all, you know that this is the make-or-break week in Congress for health care reform. The president is on the campaign trail, urging voters to contact their representatives and senators. “Make your voice louder than the health industry lobbyists” who are trying to stop reform, Obama says. Here’s why it’s a good idea for you to follow the Prez’s lead here: Health insurance lobbyists, including our good friends at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, are spending more than a million dollars per day to kill health care reform. These, of course, are the same health insurance companies that are raising rates in the middle of a recession, denying coverage to Americans with pre-existing conditions, dumping customers when they have the nerve to actually use their insurance, all while paying their CEOs outrageous bonuses.

This is the week: Call your reps. If you’re in the Charlotte area, your House members are firmly committed to their positions (Watt is for reform, Myrick thinks it’s a terrorist plot or something). Sen. Burr is also opposed. The most useful phone call or e-mail you can make in favor of health care reform is to Sen. Kay Hagan, who has supported reform in the past, but is still an uncertain vote in the current debate. Call Sen. Hagan's office at 202-224-6342 in Washington, D.C.; 704-334-2448 in Charlotte; or e-mail her at http://hagan.senate.gov.