Millions Support National Health Insurance

[Merrill]

Millions of AFL-CIO Members Support Universal, Single-Payer
Health
Insurance


> Millions of AFL-CIO Members Support
> Universal, Single-Payer Health Insurance
>
> By Harry Kelber
>
> When the AFL-CIO Executive Council meets March 6-8 in Las Vegas, it
will
> be deciding what to do about the nation's most important domestic
problem,
> health insurance for all Americans. It should recognize the wishes of
> millions of union members and endorse and campaign for the United
States
> National Health Insurance Act (H.R. 676)) that would establish a
> single-payer health insurance system with guaranteed coverage for all
> Americans.
>
> The Council will surely be impressed by the grass-roots,
extraordinary
> support for H.R. 676. Union members in 40 states, represented by 239
labor
> organizations that include four international unions, 17 state
> federations, 63 central labor councils and scores of local unions,
favor
> the single-payer measure, which eliminates profiteering by insurance
> companies, pharmaceutical companies and HMOs.
>
> H.R. 676 would create a publicly-financed, privately-delivered health
care
> system that uses the already existing Medicare program by expanding
it and
> improving it for all U.S. residents. The goal of the legislation is
to
> ensure that all Americans, regardless of employment, income or health
care
> status, will have a legal guarantee for access to the highest quality
and
> cost effective health care services.
>
> The four AFL-CIO international unions that have officially endorsed
H.R.
> 676 are: United Auto Workers, International Longshore Workers Union,
> United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters, and the National
> Association of Letter Carriers. In addition, there are many members
in
> virtually every international union who support the bill.
>
> The 17 state federations that have signed on for H.R. 676 (originally
> introduced by Rep. John Conyers, a pro-labor congressman from
Michigan)
> are: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri,
North
> Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South
Dakota,
> Vermont, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
>
> AFL-CIO Can Reclaim Image as Workers' Champion
>
> The Council's endorsement would put the single-payer plan in the
forefront
> of the national debate about how to reform the health care system. It
> would make organized labor a principal player in the debate, giving
new
> hope to the 47 million Americans that have no health care coverage
and the
> millions who are being exploited by insurance and drug companies.
>
> An AFL-CIO campaign for H.R. 676 would receive an immediate and
> enthusiastic response from tens of thousands of union members across
the
> country, who would gladly volunteer for a cause that means so much
for
> working families. The "talking points" for H.R. 676. are numerous and
> persuasive: Under single-payer, everyone is guaranteed choice of
> physician, as well as comprehensive and uniform coverage. Whether
you're
> rich or poor, you get the same level of treatment.
>
> Even if you are unemployed or lose or change your job, your health
> coverage goes with you. It ends the insurance companies' interference
with
> care. There is no denial of coverage due to pre-existing conditions
or
> cancellation of policies for "unreported" minor health problems.
>
> The amount of money that single-payer can save will be enormous.
Insurance
> agencies and drug companies are notorious for their high
administrative
> costs, exorbitant executive salaries, and profits for the
stockholders.
> And perhaps best of all, the single-payer system doesn't have to
start
> from scratch. It builds on Medicare, which has served millions of
> Americans for four decades.
>
> All of the current proposals on health care, including President
Bush's,
> rely on "market forces," allowing the for-profit companies to
continue
> their exploitive control of an industry that serves a vital human
need.
>
> By endorsing H.R. 676 and waging a full-scale campaign for its
passage,
> the AFL-CIO can regain the respectful attention it once had in
Washington
> and across the country. It could probably serve as a boost for the
> Employee Free Choice Act.
>
> The Executive Council's decision on national health insurance may be
as
> important as any it has made in years. Let's hope it is the right
one.
>
> Our two weekly columns and their archives (LaborTalk and The World of
> Labor) can be viewed and downloaded at our website:
> http://www.laboreducator.org.
>
> ____________________________________
>
> The above article of interest to union members is distributed by:
>
> All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care--HR 676
> c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO)
> 1169 Eastern Pkway, Suite 2218
> Louisville, KY 40217
> [phone]
> email: [e-mail]
> 3/2/07

[kath]

1. Good! It's great to see that it's a SINGLE PAYER plan that they're talking

about, because that is the only way to go.

We are so, so, so far behind the "1st world" nations that it's absolutely pathetic.