Add Your Name to SEIU's Health Care Reform Map

Last night, before Congress and the American people, President Obama delivered a clear message: the time to fix health care is now. Putting an end to rumors that his plans to solve the health care crisis had been put on hold, the president showed bold leadership in his commitment to reform: "So, let there be no doubt, health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year." Now it's up to us. We've only gotten this far because of the grassroots movement we've built. But the goal of our movement was never to see a president talk about health care reform, it's to see him sign it into law. Help us build the strength we need to meet that goal - add your name to the health care map: http://action.seiu.org/healthcaremap We worked tirelessly to elect a president committed to fixing health care. And within 10 minutes of his victory, we launched the next phase of our campaign to "keep health care on the map." Overnight, thousands of people throughout the U.S. put their name on the map, and took a stand for fixing our nation's ailing health care system. Today, we must renew that call to action. Click here to join our health care movement right now by adding your name to the health care map: http://action.seiu.org/healthcaremap Thanks, Anna Burger Secretary-Treasurer SEIU PS - President Obama talked a lot about health care last night - it was one of the main themes of his speech. You can see clips of all the statements he made about health care at seiu.org/blog.php

Union Leaders Join in White House Meeting on Health Care, Social Security

By Mike Hall, Feb 24, 2009 After eight years with a virtual “Do Not Enter” sign at the White House front door, President Obama has opened 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to leaders, policymakers and advocates of a wide range of views. Yesterday, union and business leaders, conservative and progressive economists, and think tankers and Democratic and Republican lawmakers came together for a “Fiscal Responsibility Summit.” At the opening session, Obama unveiled his outline to cut the $1.3 trillion federal deficit he inherited from the Bush administration in half by the end of his term by letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire, reining in tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and drawing down troops in Iraq, among other items. The more than 130 attendees broke into smaller groups to discuss ways to reform health care, strengthen Social Security and improve the budget process. Participants also examined ways to restore fairness to the tax code and reform government procurement and contracting out. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney attended the summit and cautioned against labeling the problems faced by Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid an “entitlement crisis” that requires drastic benefit cuts and spending caps. He said the underlying problem—and the one that desperately needs immediate attention—is “unaffordable health care costs.” The AFL-CIO welcomes the president’s summit on fiscal responsibility. It underscores the urgent need for comprehensive health care reform, something he has pointed out time and time again. We should all commit to working with the president and members of Congress to enact health care reform quickly in order to address the long-term fiscal position of the government, the competitive position of our businesses and the well-being of us all. Then we should move on to the job of strengthening Social Security. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), noting that health care costs run about $2.4 trillion a year, said: Our deficit really cannot be controlled until we figure out how to deal with health care costs. Robert Greenstein, the executive director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, puts it this way: The single biggest factor is rising health-care costs, not just in Medicare and Medicaid, but throughout our health-care system. A similar White House summit on health care is scheduled next month. Sweeney, along with AFT President Randi Weingarten and Ed Coyle, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, was part of the session devoted to examining Social Security. During the session, Lawrence Summers, head of the White House National Economic Council, said the crash of the nation’s financial system has dampened the move—championed by former President George W. Bush, many Republican leaders and conservative economists—to privatize Social Security, at least for now. The events in the market in the last couple of years, the sense of the need for the government to take core public responsibility for Social Security, has been strengthened, at least in may people’s minds. Though not perhaps all minds. Comments by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) show that radical Social Security changes, such as privatization, are not that far off the far-right’s radar screen. He called for raising the retirement age to 70 years old, establishing a means test for Social Security, cutting benefits for some recipients and reducing the benefit increases that are designed to offset wage inflation.** Sweeney pointed out that an increasing number of older Americans rely on Social Security for most of their retirement income. If we lower living standards by reducing benefits to “fix” Social Security, we will only contribute to a downward spiral. Part of the problem today is that FICA [Social Security] contributions have been lower than they would have been because wages have stagnated. Let’s address this issue by restoring job standards, fixing health care, so it’s not a drain on wages and restoring the freedom to form and join unions—thus allowing wages to rise. Let’s not make it worse by lowering retirement income—an additional recessionary pressure that pulls the economy down. from AFL-CIO NOW blog **My own comment, what is this guy thinking? If you work, you pay into Social Security, your employer matches what you pay into it. Does he think that after working your whole life, your not entitled to the money you've paid into it? With the market crashing down, it is a good thing the Republicans didn't succeed in privatizing our Social Security.

Andy Stern at President Obama's Fiscal Summit

Andy Stern is SEIU's president. He's speaking to President Obama on health care reform.

Follow Up on Anthem's Rate Increase Request

There are two more public hearings on Anthem's rate increase request. The first one is on March 3rd at 5:30 pm at the Wells Conference Center, Room 3, at the University of Maine in Orono. The second one is on March 10th at 5:00 pm at the Talbot Lecture Hall, Luther Bonney Hall at the University of Southern Maine in Portland. The third one, the hearing I mentioned previously, is on March 12th at 9:00 am at the Central Conference Room of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Gardiner Annex, 122 Northern Avenue in Gardiner. Staff members from the Bureau of Insurance will be on hand at the March 3rd and March 10th hearings to assist consumers with other insurance matters. General insurance materials will be available and staff will answer questions. Comments can also be submitted for consideration by the Superintendent of Insurance, Mila Kofman, through US Postal mail or email: Email: Pat.Galouch@maine.gov Mail: Superintendent of Insurance Attn: Pat Galouch 34 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333 This additional information came to me in an email from Representative David Cotta.

Anthem Requesting Another Rate Hike - Do they really need it?

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield (“Anthem”) has filed for approval of proposed revised rates for certain of its individual health insurance products, specifically its HealthChoice, HealthChoice Standard and Basic, and Lumenos Consumer Directed Health Plan products. Anthem proposes revised rates for these products that it asserts will produce an average increase of 14.5%. As identified in its filing, the largest premium increase depending on deductible level and type of contract for HealthChoice is 17.2%, for HealthChoice Standard and Basic is 7.7%, and for Lumenos is 34.1%. As of November 2008 there are 12,049 policyholders who will be affected by the proposed rate revisions. Anthem requests that these rate revisions become effective on May 1, 2009. Does Anthem really need the rate increases? Consider this, they already make a great profit on the policies they sell. Between 2004 and 2007, in Maine, Anthem's profits increased by 89.2%, increasing from $40 million to $75.7 million, while its membership increased over that same period of time at just 2.4%. Anthem's annual profits in 2007 were $75.7 million. Anthem's surplus grew from $177.2 million to $252.1 million over the same time period, 2004 to 2007. What are they doing with all this money? Paying it out to their share holders in the form of dividends, paying it out in the form of bonuses to their CEOs, but certainly not making health care coverage more accessible and more affordable. Just think, with half of those profits, they could have given Dirigo its much needed boost. What an idea! But no, they and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, every year, take Dirigo's savings offset payment to court, challenging the way it is calculated. More corporate greed at the labor and expense of Maine's hard working people. While all this is happening, people are losing their health care coverage because they can no longer afford it. HEALTH CARE SHOULD NOT BE A PROFIT MAKING BUSINESS. NO PROFIT SHOULD BE MADE OFF SICKNESS OR PREVENTIVE MEDICINE. Maine's Bureau of Insurance is holding a public hearing on this proposed rate increase by Anthem. If you're one of these policy holders, or an interested individual as myself, I urge you to attend the public hearing. It will be beginning at 9:00 a.m. on March 12, 2009, in the Central Conference Room at the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Gardiner Annex, 122 Northern Avenue, Gardiner, Maine. Members of the public are invited to attend the hearing. For all the legalese of this hearing, check out the Bureau of Insurance's web page. Anthem's profit figures comes from Insuring Health or Ensuring Profit? A Snapshot of the Health Insurance Industry in the United States, page 21, published by Northwest Federation of Community Organizations in the Summer of 2008. Be patient as the report loads, it takes a second or two.

CHANGE THAT WORKS - Coming to a Living Room Near You

For a moment, imagine if we didn't have to fight the same battles every year in the Maine Legislature over the State Employee Health Insurance Plan and funding for our jobs. Imagine if everyone had health coverage equal to or even better than state workers. Imagine if everyone who wanted to form a union carried their union card in their wallets. Our work in the Maine Legislature every year would sure be a lot easier. Our opponents wouldn't be trying to tear down the health benefits of those lucky enough to have them. Public workers wouldn't have to worry about layoffs or furlough days because our elected leaders would understand that Maine people deserve quality public services, period. It would be easy to write all this off as wishful thinking, but members, staff, family and friends of your union and our international union, SEIU, see a huge opportunity RIGHT NOW to bring about lasting change to improve the lives of working families all across the nation. We're talking about Change that Works - and it's coming to a living room near you. BUILDING GRASSROOTS SUPPORT FOR WORKING FAMILIES Right now, at the direction of our union's Convention and the MSEA-SEIU Board of Directors, over a dozen SEIU organizers working as part of our union's Change that Works campaign are holding personal gatherings with MSEA-SEIU members, their families and friends throughout Maine. These aren't your typical union meetings. They're social gatherings, maybe even potluck suppers, in the homes of our members and their friends and families, in our local community halls and in our work sites. STORIES FROM EVERYDAY PEOPLE LIKE YOU At these gatherings, known as "house meetings," everyday people like you, your co-workers, your friends and neighbors are telling their own stories about health insurance - what works, what doesn't and what can be done about it. They're telling stories about what belonging to a union means to them and how it has improved their lives. They're also hearing that personal stories of workers who have been denied the basic union rights that so many of us in Maine take for granted. SUPPORTING HEALTH CARE FOR EVERYONE AND EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE These discussions are all aimed at building broad-based community education and support for Congress to pass two national initiatives this year:

• Quality, affordable health insurance for everyone;
• Passage of the federal Employee Free Choice Act to make it easier for workers who want union representation to form a union.

Members of our union and other unions all across the nation are determined to build the political will necessary for Congress to pass both national health care legislation and the Employee Free Choice Act.

HOW YOU CAN BE PART OF IT It all starts with you. If you would like to participate in a house meeting in your community and if you have not already been contacted by an SEIU organizer, then please call MSEA-SEIU Political Coordinator Alec Maybarduk right away at 1-800-452-8794 ext. 1122 or 344-7540 or alec.maybarduk@mseaseiu.org

Together, we can bring about CHANGE THAT WORKS. Be a part of it today!

Montana Direct-Care Workers Receive Health Insurance

Last month, 900 Montana direct-care workers who provide Medicaid private duty nursing and personal care services started receiving health insurance under a new program called Health Care for Health Care Workers. The program was approved by the 2007 legislature and is currently up for extension during the legislative session. Under the program, Medicaid providers receive additional funds for health insurance for their workers if they meet certain requirements. Kate Hurley, who oversees Nightingale Nursing and Caregiving and Home Health of Montana, was interviewed by NPR about the proposal. Hurley said the program already stabilized their workforce which is prone to high turnover rates and vacancy. Mike Hanshew, Director of Policy for Montana Health Solutions, who sheparded the program through the legislature, said this program accomplished three important policy goals - providing more Montanans with health insurance, strengthening the long term care workforce, and helping people get off and stay off welfare - with one spending plan. "That makes this program unique," says Hanshew. An editorial in the Helena Independent Record called for "strong support" of the program's expansion as it would allow more people to remain at home. "There's something sadly ironic about people providing health care without having the peace of mind of health insurance themselves," wrote the editor. For more details on the Montana program, visit the Department of Health and Human Services. Allison Lee National Campaign Manager Health Care for Health Care Workers PHI

14,000 Insured Lose Health Coverage Every Day

Mike Hall, February 18, 2009 In December and January, as the nation’s unemployment rate shot upward—hitting 7.6 percent in January—the number of Americans without health insurance neared the 50-million mark. Some 14,000 people a day, nearly 100,000 a week, lost their health insurance during that two-month span, according to a forthcoming analysis by James Kvaal and Ben Furnas, reports the Center for American Progress’ Wonk Room. The growing number of working families that are losing their health care coverage highlights the need for swift action on comprehensive health care reform. The economic recovery package signed yesterday by President Obama offers a health care lifeline for jobless workers. Under the bill, workers who lose their jobs are eligible for a 65 percent subsidy to cover their health care premiums under COBRA for nine months. COBRA is the program that allows workers to maintain for 18 months the same coverage they had through their employer if they can pay the premiums. But those premiums often exceed $1,000 a month, a huge cost for an unemployed worker. The economic recovery bill originally provided broader help for jobless workers, including allowing workers to enroll in Medicaid if they couldn’t afford COBRA even with the new subsides and enabling older workers to remain in COBRA until they qualified for Medicare. But as the Wonk Room points out, negotiators seeking bipartisan support considered Republican objections and stripped those provisions. Still, only three Republicans voted for the stimulus bill. With the economy far from a quick turnaround and job losses continuing to mount, health care experts say the number of people without health insurance could grow to staggering levels—making health care reform even more critical. Says Ron Pollack, president of Families USA: The regrettable absence of the Medicaid coverage provision helps to underscore the importance of enacting meaningful health care reform in the very near future. With the adoption of the economic recovery legislation, it is time to start the health reform process so that legislative action can be completed this year. 1 comment catbear955 on 19.02.2009 One of my brothers’ long-time friends was diagnosed with lung cancer, and then laid off—this COBRA subsidy will definitely mean a better quality of life during this difficult time. from AFL-CIO NOW Blog FYI-Two of the Republican Senators are our own, Senator Olympia Snowe and Senator Susan Collins. The third Republican Senator is Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania.

Report: Higher Union Membership = Higher Wages = Better Economy

Seth Michaels, February 18, 2009 Workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain will be critical to rebuilding a strong economy, says a new report released today that examines the effect of unions on wages and state economies. Unions are Good for the American Economy, written by researchers Karla Walter and David Madland for the Center for American Progress Action Fund, says that increasing union rates would put more money in workers’ pockets, reversing the sharp growth in income inequality that has undermined our economy. In fact, if union membership was as high as it was in 1983, Walter and Madland suggest, employees would earn an estimated $49 billion more in wages and salaries. The report also provides a state-by-state analysis of increased union membership on wages. An increase in the rate of union membership of just 5 percent would increase total wages by $176 million in Nebraska, $503 million in Wisconsin and $852 million in Pennsylvania. These wages would be spread across the entire labor market. The essence of what labor unions do—give workers a stronger voice so that they can get a fair share of the economic growth they help create—is and has always been important to making the economy work for all Americans. And unions only become more important as the economy worsens. One of the primary reasons why our current recession endures is that workers do not have the purchasing power they need to drive our economy…what is sustainable is an economy where workers are adequately rewarded and have the income they need to purchase goods. This is where unions come in. Walter and Madland point to the disconnect between productivity and wages as a major factor in our economic crisis. Indeed, if wages had kept pace with productivity increases, rather than falling behind as they have in recent decades, average wages would be 42.7 percent higher. That’s a sizable share of the economy that workers have lost, undermining consumer purchasing power and economic security—which, in turn, hurt the nation’s entire economy in a vicious downward spiral. The massive loss to workers of the economic growth they created can be traced to a decline in workers’ bargaining power in the labor market. The solution, Walter and Madland contend, is to make it easier for workers to form unions and bargain for a fair share of the value they create. Passing the Employee Free Choice Act and making it harder for management to threaten workers seeking to unionize would be good for American workers. It would help boost workers’ wages and benefits. And putting more money in workers’ pockets would provide a needed boost for the U.S. economy. Increasing unionization is a good way to get out of our current economic troubles. In a time of economic crisis when political leaders are looking for ways to restore balance, rebuild a middle class and improve the lives of working families, this report shows that giving workers the power to form unions and bargain is essential. You can read the whole report here. 3 comments Granny on the Warpath on 19.02.2009 It isn’t just wages and benefits, it is being able to get necessary things like Family Leave and bereavement time without being hassled or having to fight for the time off. It is being able to band together and demand better working conditions and a safer workplace. It is for getting decent working hours and getting paid for those hours. It is for having your rights as an employee taken seriously and problems taken care of instead of having to keep quiet and tolerate those problems to keep your job. No Amnesty on 19.02.2009 E-Verify wouldn’t hurt either. E-Verify is nearly 100% accurate in determining the legality of people applying for jobs in this country yet it was apparently stripped from the stimulus package. It’s set to expire 3/6 without Congressional action. Contact your senators and representatives today and urge them to not only extend E-Verify but make it permanent and mandatory for ALL US employers. E-VERIFY WORKS! union friend on 19.02.2009 What a boost to the economy if people actually earned enough to pay their bills and buy some of the things they want, too. How nice it would be for all Americans to have money left over at the end of the month and actually be able to save some of it!! from AFL-CIO NOW blog

Meeting ALERT

Due to the inclement weather, the Kennebec Valley Organization's Health Care Team has postponed their meeting to next Thursday, February 26, 6 to 8 pm, at the Saint Francis Parish Hall on Elm Street in Waterville.

House Meeting on Health Care Reform

Come to a House Meeting on

Health Care Reform

Tuesday, February 24th at 6 pm

at the home of

Sasha Shunk

70 Frost Street, Portland

We all have a story to tell about our experience with America's failed health care system, or know someone who does. Come hear ours, share yours, and learn how you can work with others in your community for

real reform now.

Now is our chance for real needed changes in our health care system, and MSEA-SEIU's Care Division is spearheading the drive to make it happen. Come celebrate our recent victories and hear about the next steps in our movement to rebuild the middle class, restore families' voice at work, and guarantee every person's right to quality, affordable healthcare.

Hope to see you there - bring along your friends!

Questions or Directions? call Mike Roland at 253-5218

Health Care Reform House Meeting

Come to a House Meeting on

Health Care Reform

Monday, February 23rd at 6 pm

at the home of

Kathy and Brian Beland

26 Wilson Place, Augusta

We all have a story to tell about our experience with America's

failed health care system, or know someone who does.

Come hear ours, share yours, and learn how you can

work with others in your community for real reform now.

Now is our chance for real needed changes in our health care system, and MSEA-SEIU'S Care Division is spearheading the drive to make it happen. Come celebrate our recent victories and hear about the next steps in our movement to rebuild the middle class, restore families' voice at work, and guarantee every person's right to quality, affordable health care.

Hope to see you there - bring along your friends!

Questions or Directions? call Mike Roland at 253-5218

Adult Education Web Portal Launched

The Maine Adult Education Association launched the Maine Adult Education website, which offers a searchable, comprehensive list of courses and programs offered throughout the State. The site also enables Mainers to register for courses. The Maine Department of Education collected fall registration data from around the state adn found that those reporting showed a 29% increase in registration over the previous year. According to the Maine Adult Education Association, since the site went online on January 5, it has logged more than 11,000 visitors and about 500 online registrations. The Maine Adult Education website is located at http://www.maineadulted.org. an email from Representative David Cotta

Two Polls show Public Doesn't Buy Insurance Industry's Spin on Health Care

by Mike Hall, Feb. 3, 2009 Our continuing series examining health care reform proposals, issues, opinions and surveys today takes a look at what the public thinks about the private insurance industry. And it’s not good news for the big for-profit corporations that are doing their darndest to roadblock meaningful reform. Two recent polls show the public is not buying what the private insurance industry is peddling. The AFL-CIO has not endorsed a specific plan but has established certain principles around which any plan should be built (click here for more details). One of the key elements must be a public health insurance plan option—such as the one President Obama is proposing as an alternative to private insurance. The insurance companies and right-wingers have teamed up to try to kill such a plan and convince the public it would drive up their costs, limit coverage and leave millions uninsured. A large majority of those surveyed told Lake Research Partners that a public health insurance plan option might just be the medicine needed to shape up the private, for-profit insurance industry and improve its performance. The Lake survey found: 62 percent of respondents believe a public health insurance plan option would spend less on profits and administration and force private insurers to compete. But only 28 percent believe the insurance industry’s claim that such a plan would be a “big, government bureaucracy.” 60 percent believe that if private insurers are really more efficient than government, as they claim, then they wouldn’t have any trouble competing with a public health insurance plan option. Only 23 percent buy the industry’s assertion that a public health insurance option would have an unfair advantage over private plans. Only 27 percent believe the claim that a public health insurance option will cause millions of people to be dumped from their private coverage, and just 26 percent believe such a plan will force people into lower-quality care, including rationing and long waits. Meanwhile, a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health shows most people say it’s time for the government to tighten up the rules on how private health insurance companies do business. One of the major complaints working families have expressed about the private insurance industry is its nearly universal refusal to cover anyone with a “pre-existing condition.” But the Kaiser/Harvard survey found that 72 percent of respondents favor requiring insurance companies to cover those with prior illnesses, even if it means healthier customers have to pay higher premiums. Also, 65 percent are in favor of a government rule limiting insurance companies’ administrative costs, while 62 percent say the government should cap insurance company profits. The Kaiser/Harvard findings show that the private, for-profit insurance industry’s years-long campaign to paint a government role in health care reform as a deadly intrusion on the sacred and “efficient” free market—remember “Harry and Louise”—isn’t working like it used to. The public once may have bought that argument against government regulation, but the tide is turning. A majority, 51 percent, say there is too little government regulation of health care costs, twice as many as say there is too much government regulation. You can bet there will be a ferocious campaign by the private insurance companies and big health care corporations to fight any regulation of costs. We’ve got a lot of work to do to counter that. Click here to read what a group of small business owners have to say about a public insurance plan option as part of health care reform. Click here to take a look at proposals by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) calling for a single-payer system and recommendations from Health CEOs for Health Reform. Click here to read about University of California professor Jacob Hacker’s call for creation of a public health care insurance plan as an option for workers and families who either have private insurance coverage or no coverage at all. 2 Comments Paul B on 04.02.2009 at 00:31 Thankfully we won’t have to contend with the corrupt insurance industry shill Tom Daschle and pretend he is on our side and for real health care reform as part of the supposedly progressive Obama administration. The former Senator used his status to become an obscenely overpaid lobbyist for the very ‘health care’ industry that has left millions uninsured and the ones who are insured paying exorbitant prices for corporate ‘health care’. Daschle profited mightily and - surprise - forgot to pay taxes! shouldn’t he be on trial? He’s no better than fellow Republicrat Bill Frist. Let’s tell Obama to appoint Rose Ann deMoro to be HHS Secretary, or Dr Quentin Young of Physicians for a National Health Program. The we’d see real “Change we can believe in…..’ topgun on 04.02.2009 at 11:34 There are a couple of serious problems here. First, effective regulation of the health insurance industry would require a huge, costly administrative bureaucracy and, more to the point, the political will to withstand a $12 billion industry hell-bent on neutralizing its efforts at regulation. Second, creating a public option while leaving the private insurance system intact raises the prospect of a “two-tier” system in which the public plan becomes a dumping ground for everybody private insurers find unprofitiable to cover, thereby raising its costs significantly. An all-inclusive public plan would be cheaper, more efficient, and more equitable. A public option may prove to be the best we can get right now, but we’ll never know if we’re not willling to put up a fight for something better. Organized labor should put up a fight for HR 676 rather than caving in before the battle has even begun. AFL-CIO NOW Blog, Feb. 4, 2009

SCHIP Won Reauthorization

Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009, the Senate reauthorized the State Children's Health Insurance Program by a vote of 66-32. The bill passed by the Senate will provide critical health care to 11 million children. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law immediately. This is the first victory in a long fight to win health care for everyone in America. I want to personally thank you for your efforts. Your phone calls to your Senators helped speed this bill to easy passage. Next, the Senate will take on President Obama's economic recovery plan, which was passed by the House the other day. That bill includes billions of dollars in investments for health care. We'll have more details on that and how you can help soon. After we pass the economic recovery plan, we'll be ready to go for the big one - quality, affordable health care for all. Once again, thank you for your efforts. It was essential to get this bill passed, but this points to the urgent need for real comprehensive health care reform. This is the year we can win quality, affordable health care for everyone in America.

AFL-CIO President: Health Care Reform Critical to Economic Recovery

by James Parks, Jan. 30, 2000 Reforming the nation’s health care system, including cost controls, is a critical part of any national economic fix, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said today, and he urged lawmakers and the White House to make it an urgent priority. Speaking to the 21st Annual Conference on Social Insurance, Fiscal Responsibility, and Economic Growth in Washington, D.C., Sweeney said the union movement is ratcheting up its commitment to creating a national system of affordable health care: This year, we’re adding a sword’s point to that commitment: We have no time left for dithering, we’re in a perilous economic ditch, and we will not dig our way out and fix our economy until we fix our health care system. The conference was hosted by the National Academy of Social Insurance, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization made up of the nation’s leading experts on social insurance issues, such as Social Security, Medicare and workers’ compensation. Its mission is to promote understanding of how social insurance contributes to economic security and a vibrant economy. Click here to read Sweeney’s entire speech. Any health care reform must not only provide dependable delivery of service, Sweeney said, but contain costs as well. In health care reform, the single toughest issue is cost control—without cost savings, the debates over financing and the relative roles of public and private insurance programs are useless. National health care reform without cost controls is like moving furniture into a burning house. Workers understand that the nation’s health care crisis contributed in large part to the current economic collapse, Sweeney said. We in labor know the sad history all too well—we’ve been trying to bargain good wages for our members for all those years, and having to forego pay increases to maintain our benefits and keep premiums and co-payments under control. The bottom line is that health care costs have been picking the pockets of working families for a long time. After basic expenses, families have been left with less and less money to spend and save, and that has undermined the corner of our economy we call consumer spending. All stakeholders in the health care system—government, employers, insurers, workers, the medical community and pharmaceutical companies—will have to accept “their responsibilities when it comes to controlling costs and guaranteeing quality care,” Sweeney added. For the first time in many years, we have the political advantage when it comes to meaningful health care reform, and we must seize the moment. We must do it not only for the sake of the young, the old, the poor, the working poor, and the middle class who are depending on us, but in order to turn our economy around and make it work for everyone. 2 comments mustanguy on 31.01.2009 at 02:11 Thank GOD we have a leader that is on the side of the working man. I hope that all sides will work together to get us out of this mess. Wow when will the CEO’s wake up ,I think they are all brain dead, as to what they have done getting big money for to make a company go broke. We might have to take over ther jobs. a roadkill has more brains. TrueDemocrat on 02.02.2009 at 12:18 Plan Congressional Visits During Presidents’ Day Recess Congressman John Conyers re-introduced HR 676 into the 111th Congress on January 26th. The bill keeps the same number, HR 676, as it has since it was first introduced in 2003. Action Alert: Because this is a new Congress, representatives who co-sponsored HR 676 in the 110th Congress need to sign on again. Plus we need to get many more. Please make an appointment to see your representative over the Presidents’ Day recess that begins Feb. 13 and lasts until Feb. 22. Representatives will be in their home districts, and we need to ask them to sign on to and speak up for HR 676—and, of course, to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act. Please make sure your representative has a copy of the HR 676 resolution passed by your union. New HR 676 Improves Worker Protection An important improvement in the latest version of HR 676 is the expansion of protection for workers in insurance companies, doctors’ offices, hospitals and other work sites who are displaced or whose jobs are eliminated due to reduced administration. The new HR 676 guarantees to these workers, in addition to first priority in retraining and job placement in the new system, the right to benefits equal to their full current salary for up to two years while they make the transition. HR 676 will have a job creating impact, but the jobs created will not be the current type of billing and clerical jobs, nor jobs related to denying benefits. HR 676 is a pro-worker bill which, for the first time, will guarantee that no worker, ever again, will lose their health coverage! At this link, you will find the 33 who have already signed on as co-sponsors of HR 676, including four newly elected Democrats (Massa, Polis, Pingree, Tonko). http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:1:./temp/~bdxQ2O:@@@P/bss/111search.html HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system by expanding a greatly improved Medicare system to everyone residing in the U. S. HR 676 would cover every person for all necessary medical care including prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental health, home health, physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision care, hearing services including hearing aids, chiropractic, durable medical equipment, palliative care, and long term care. HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments. HR 676 would save hundreds of billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the private health insurance industry and HMOs. In the 110th Congress, HR 676 had 93 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers. HR 676 has been endorsed by 481 union organizations in 49 states including 118 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 39 state AFL-CIO’s (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO, MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA, AK, MI, MT, NE, NY, NV & MA). This is what Sweeney does not want! Call your congress person and she or he to sign on as a co-sponsor for this legislation, the answer to the health care crisis. AFL-CIO NOW blog Feb. 2, 2009 FYI Our Union - MSEA-SEIU - has also endorsed and supports HR676. The board of directors made that endorsement at their July 2008 meeting, thanks to the good work of Penny Whitney-Asdourian and Scott Neumeyer.