For Immediate Release
Friday, November 13, 2009
AFSCME Retirees Stand Up for Health Care Reform at White House
First Lady Highlights Difficulties Faced By Older Women, Need for Reform
Washington, DC —Retiree members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), stood for health care reform today at an event headlined by First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House. The First Lady spoke with a group that included ten AFSCME retiree women about the difficulties older women face in the health insurance market and the importance of passing health care reform legislation this year.
“The insurance companies and right wing opponents of health care reform are trying to scare seniors and kill the reform that all Americans need. They’ve spread lies about cuts in Medicare, so-called death panels and rationing,” said AFSCME International President Gerald W. McEntee. “The reality is that health care reform means new Medicare benefits and the ability of retirees who aren’t yet eligible for Medicare to buy affordable coverage. Health care reform means that older women, and all Americans, will be able to get the care they need without risking bankruptcy.”
Legislation passed Saturday by the House of Representatives would improve Medicare benefits and closes the donut hole that seniors face when purchasing drugs. The legislation would provide free preventive services – making them more affordable for seniors and saving money and lives. It would contain Medicare’s costs without reducing benefits or raising co-pays or deductibles, and would improve access to care.
“As retirees our incomes are fixed, but health care costs – premiums, prescription drugs and other out-of-pocket expenses – keep going up. We need health care reform now that guarantees quality, affordable health care for all,” said Ida B. Williams Ward of Baltimore, Md., President of AFSCME Retirees Chapter 1, who attended the White House event.
Today’s event, held in the East Room of the White House, highlighted the important need for health care reform to help women access services as they age, and to provide aging adults with affordable, reliable, quality health care. Along with the First Lady, participants included Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director of the White House Health Reform Office, and older women from across the country who shared stories about their struggles to find affordable coverage and to pay for the health care services they need.
