On Thursday, the Virginia Organizing Project, as part of Health Care for America Now joined thousands of health care supporters from around the country in Washington, D.C. for Health Care-We Can’t Wait 09!, a health care reform lobby day.

Hundreds of Virginia health care activists, health care providers and community leaders boarded buses and vans from Richmond, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Norton, Tidewater and northern Virginia destined for Washington, D.C. The health care rally was held on the Capitol and close to 8,000 were reported attending.

Following the rally, the Virginia delegation visited with Virginia members of Congress during scheduled and unscheduled visits. The lobby visits included testimony on health care from small business owners, rural residents, faith leaders, health care providers, and under insured and uninsured Virginians.

VOP members met directly with Reps. Tom Perriello, Bob Goodlatte and Rick Boucher. Reps. Frank Wolf and Gerry Connolly had staff members meet with VOP members in their absence. Members of the Virginia health care delegation also dropped by Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb’s offices to leave their health care stories for the senators.

Virginians spoke out to their members of Congress on why they traveled to Washington, D.C. for the lobby day and why they are demanding health care reform with a public plan option:

"I'm here today because everybody deserves affordable and accessible health care. We have elderly citizens who've worked all their lives and now can't afford health care. It just doesn't add up," says Reggie Herndon, with the Lynchburg Area Center for Independent Living.

"We need a quality public option that everybody has access to, not just people who can afford coverage currently," says Britt Payne of Lynchburg.

“I came to Washington today because I want to share my personal health care horror story with my congressman. I have been traumatized as a result of our broken health care system and want Congress to make health care a priority in 2009,” says Cathy Lawder of Charlottesville.

"My wife and I are both over 60 and I got downsized in late January, and the COBRA payments are more than our mortgage at $1,400 a month. Our daughter just started a job with no insurance and will have to figure out how to pay for it. Everyone should have the option of being on a comprehensive public plan. We've been debating this since I was in high school on the debate team in 1961. It’s time," says Jack Payden-Travers of Lynchburg.

"Good access to health care will improve everybody's quality of life. We made excellent personal points today to the representative and connected with other groups so we can work on this back in our districts. The public option is really important. Public education was for everyone because I don't want my neighbor's children to not be able to read. This is just like that. I don't want my neighbor's children to be sick," says Katy Pitcock from the Northern Shenandoah Valley.

The purpose of the lobby day was to encourage Congress to support comprehensive health care reform that includes the choice of public health insurance option in addition to the current private health insurance market. The Virginia Organizing Project will continue to advocate for comprehensive health care reform that includes a public health insurance option through grassroots community organizing.