Hi everyone,

As part of BlogHer's community journalism initiative on health care policy, I'm very happy to announce we are kicking off a bi-partisan series of telephone conference calls to connect women bloggers directly with legislators.

In the next two weeks, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) will kick off this initiative. In each conference call, a member of Congress will engage with BlogHer's contributing editors from both sides of the aisle, plus a group of 15-20 women bloggers. Each call is expected to last from 40 minutes to an hour. We'll begin with an opening statement by the Congressional representative or Senator, and then launch a moderated question and answer session with participating bloggers.

Why conference calls? Because BlogHer -- like many of you! -- is eager to move past mudslinging and talk about the future of health care in the United States. We want these calls to be substantive and we will work to ensure they adhere to our community guidelines for civil disagreement.

Here's how to participate: I'll announce each call here at BlogHer.com, at which point we'll invite you to sign up to attend on a first-come, first-served basis based on your ability to participate and our goal of making sure that each group represents the vast spectrum of political opinion represented by women who blog. If you can't attend, we'd love to hear your questions for legislators in the comments and may be able to ask them for you.

Our goal is to foster a frank, open, and civil discussion surrounding the current health care policy debate. We want to thank Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and his staff, who originally approached us with this idea, embraced BlogHer's non-partisan stance and valued the opportunity speak with our entire community.

Hope you're as excited about this initiative as we are! Let's start the conversation now -- is there one question you'd ask every one of these legislators about the future of health care policy?

I'll start with one: Will this policy cover preventative care and treatment for substance addicts, including nicotine, alcohol and other drugs?

Best,
Lisa
for Elisa, Jory and Lisa
BlogHer Co-founders