AFSCME Supports "Health Care for America" Plan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2007
CONTACT: Eric Kleiman
(202) 429-1145

AFSCME Supports “Health Care for America” Plan

McEntee: Expansion of employer-based health care offers America its most realistic chance to achieve affordable coverage for all

WASHINGTON—Gerald W. McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, issued the following statement today in support of the “Health Care for America” plan proposed by Jacob Hacker, a Yale University professor and author of “The Great Risk Shift.” McEntee stated:

“Lack of affordable health coverage is the most critical problem facing working families today. Sky¬rocketing health care costs have eaten up American workers’ wage gains for years now. The con¬tinued erosion of employer-sponsored coverage has contributed to historic numbers of uninsured Americans, while straining public health care programs to the breaking point.

“The leadership void in the White House on this critical issue is unpardonable. As we welcome a hopeful new political era, I call on leaders across the ideological spectrum to join with us to help create a system of guaranteed, affordable health care for all.

“Jacob Hacker’s ‘Health Care for America’ plan is an innovative, common-sense approach to reform that deserves the careful consideration of policymakers. His proposal builds on the foundation of employer-sponsored health insurance—the system by which most Americans derive their cover-age—to create a new system of affordable coverage for all.

“The Hacker plan presents us with an important opportunity to begin a serious dialogue about how to achieve meaningful health care reform in America. To date, our failure of initiative and imagination on this issue has created a shameless legacy of economic instability and needless suffering across this country. We cannot afford to wait another day to tackle the most serious problem of our generation.”

AFSCME is the largest union for workers in the public service with 1.4 million members nationwide. AFSCME organizes for economic and social justice in the workplace and advocates for working families through political action and legislative advocacy. AFSCME represents a diverse group of service and health care workers in the public and private sectors, including nurses, EMTs, bus drivers, child care providers, custodians and librarians.