From the start of the health care reform debate, we have been firm.

We believe that Americans need health care reform now. That means fixing what’s wrong and preserving what’s right. It also means improving care for all Americans and getting more value for every health care dollar we spend.

We believe there are specific elements in the House and the Senate bills that help achieve these goals.

First, do no harm. To us, this means no benefit cuts for people in Medicare. It also means protecting existing employer-sponsored insurance and protecting your right to choose your plan and your doctor. Health decisions must be made by patients and their doctors, not insurance companies or the government.

Protect and strengthen Medicare. Older Americans today and in the future must have the health coverage they need, and they must be able to afford it. In order to make health care affordable, we have to lower drug costs, provide free preventive health checkups and help lower-income people afford Medicare.

That means closing the Part D “doughnut hole,” reducing waste, fraud and abuse, and preventing costly, dangerous hospital readmissions.

Another critical issue for all people on Medicare is to ensure that they see the doctor of their choice. We support the House effort that changes the payment formula for doctors.

Offer affordable coverage options for people 50 to 65. No one should be denied affordable insurance coverage because of age or health status. Insurance companies should not be able to reject you, or charge you an outrageous premium, because you got sick once, might get sick again, lost your job, are over 50, or because your employer dropped your coverage. That’s why we support the House provisions that limit an insurance company’s ability to charge an older person no more than twice what it charges a younger person for the same insurance, as well as subsidies to help lower- and moderate-income individuals afford coverage. Currently, insurers can charge up to 10 times more for an older person. And that just isn’t right.

This is where we stand. This is what we’re fighting for. This is what our members have told us they want from health care reform. Not all of these elements are in any one bill, but different pieces are contained separately in the bills currently being debated in the House and Senate. Our goal is to make sure that these provisions are included in the final health care bill.

We have made it clear to the president and Congress that we will fight with the strength of our entire membership—nearly 40 million people—to protect your benefits. We will block any proposals that eliminate benefits, raise out-of-pocket costs, reduce access to care or lead to rationing.

But we can’t do it alone. We need your help. Check healthactionow.org. Contact your senators, your representative and the president. Tell them that you support these measures and want them included in any legislation that goes to the president. You can make a difference.