Caught in the Crossfire

Patients and workers are trapped in the battle over health care.

"Babies don't complain too much." That's what one health care executive told The Wall Street Journal when asked why his former company, Columbia/HCA, had cut staff in the hospital unit which cares for newborns.

Today, anyone — regardless of age — who enters a hospital, doctor's office or medical clinic is caught in the crossfire in the battle over health care.

"The name of the game is profits, profits, profits," says neurologist Dr. Robert Weinmann, president of the 5,000-member Union of American Physicians and Dentists which affiliated with AFSCME in August.

Insurance providers and other profit-making companies are trying to squeeze as much money out of health care as possible — even if it means withholding necessary treatment, cutting staff or closing medical centers.

AFSCME members have reason to fear for the quality of health care today, whether they are among our 350,000 members in the medical field or simply health care consumers. But AFSCME is working to keep the health care system healthy.

"We need a system that puts patients ahead of profits," says AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee, who serves on the White House Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry. "We need to put patients and health care workers in the driver's seat again."

In Washington, D.C., and throughout the country, AFSCME members are fighting for quality: They're fighting for quality jobs and quality health care. Here are five stories from the front line.

By Alison S. Lebwohl