McEntee Tells Congress: Health Reform Needed

by   |  April 27, 2007

President McEntee took AFSCME’s health care message to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, delivering testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives in which he said, “Shamefully, 45 million people live with the fear that they or a family member will need care for which they cannot pay.” Testifying before the U.S. Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, McEntee said the crisis of the uninsured affects everyone—including members of unions who have kept their health insurance after fighting long, hard battles against management seeking to cut benefits. “It cannot be overstated that the crisis of the uninsured is everyone’s problem, including those of us who have insurance,” McEntee testified. “The elaborate shell game of cost-shifting that is built into our insurance rates to pay for uncompensated care means that each time the number of uninsured rises, so do our premiums.” McEntee also noted with dismay that many child care providers and home care workers do not receive health benefits as part of their jobs. “It is a travesty when those on the frontlines of providing care to our children, our elderly and our disabled have no health care themselves,” McEntee told Congress.