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Healthcare Reform 2009

Talking Points

The AFT strongly supports a healthcare reform plan that will guarantee high-quality and affordable healthcare for all Americans. Effective reform will:

Establish a viable and comprehensive public plan option that will guarantee high-quality, affordable coverage that:

• Makes healthcare accessible and affordable to every person, family and business; and
• Ensures that individuals have a choice between selecting a public plan or keeping their private plans.

The Facts: According to a survey by the AFL-CIO, nearly 75 percent of voters want everyone to have the choice of a public health insurance plan.

Ensure that employer-provided healthcare benefits are not taxed.

• Workers, and their unions, weigh the cost of healthcare benefits when negotiating for wages and benefits -- frequently forgoing needed pay increases in exchange for maintaining affordable healthcare coverage. An additional tax will unfairly penalize workers who have employer-provided coverage.
• Workers already are struggling to pay for their healthcare costs. Many working families simply cannot afford the additional expense of having their employer-provided coverage taxed.

The Facts: Nearly 160 million Americans get their health benefits through their employers. Workers will see this tax as a real government threat to their benefits, and they will be right.

Require quality staffing standards to improve healthcare that:

• Establishes safe staffing standards that will improve patient safety, reduce medical errors, and prevent healthcare workers from leaving the profession.

The Facts: According to a 2008 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality research paper, prevention of medical errors would reduce healthcare costs by as much as 30 percent in the inpatient setting. In addition, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that nurses were responsible for intercepting 86 percent of all medication errors before they reached the patient.

Recognize that tackling healthcare reform is key to regaining and bolstering our economic strength.

•  Family budgets, American businesses, and federal and state governments are being squeezed by the current healthcare system. Rising costs and inefficiencies are straining family budgets, burdening businesses of all sizes and diverting funds that should be invested in efforts to help our economy recover and expand.
• Reform can enhance choice and competition in healthcare, while also creating jobs, spurring innovation, and serving as an important and timely investment in our country.

Please write to members of Congress. They're hearing from the opposition, and they need to hear from those who do support affordable, quality health care for everyone. Don't let the insurance industry continue to dictate what health care you should receive.

Personal stories have the strongest impact on members of Congress so remember to add personal stories when appropriate.

Below are the links to your U.S. Representatives and Senators:

Additional Resources