SEIU and Center for American Progress Call for Real Health Care Reform

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 25, 2006
    
CONTACT:
Alyssa Barnum
202-730-7358
alyssa.barnum@seiu.org
 
Washington, DC – Citing a new poll shows that an overwhelming 89 percent of Americans agree that our health care system is broken, two progressive organizations came together to call on our leaders and candidates to address real, comprehensive health care reform.

The poll was conducted by Gerstein/Agne Strategic Communications and commissioned by the Service Employees International Union’s (SEIU) Americans for Health Care and the Center for American Progress.

“Incremental approaches don’t offer the solutions the country needs, and aren’t what the American people want,” said John Podesta, President of the Center for American Progress.  “Today, the American people are demanding comprehensive reform.  As progressives, we believe real reform of our health care system is no longer a choice; it is a necessity if we are to give every individual, every community a chance to thrive.”

“Health care premiums are up 73% since 2000, businesses are losing competitiveness because they spend nearly half a trillion dollars per year on health care, and the quality of care we receive isn't befitting the world's greatest country,” stated Senator Tom Daschle, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.  “All Americans should be able to afford health care, and health promotion and prevention should be a national priority.  Most of all we need leadership to put this issue at the top of the policy agenda - where it belongs.”

“We know our health care system is broken, but we also know that Americans are not going to blindly accept a new model,” said Andy Stern, President of SEIU.  “We need to draw from the lessons of other countries, and our state and federal programs to build a new American health care system on the foundation of our principles: that each of us is responsible to contribute and all of us will have access to its benefits.”

“In this critical election year, SEIU and our members demand that our leaders and those running for office address this issue,” said Anna Burger, Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU.  “As our polling shows, it is a winning strategy for candidates and elected officials to run on a platform of comprehensive health care reform.”

With nearly 46 million uninsured Americans, skyrocketing health care costs that are still on the rise and benefits that are constantly being cut, the time has come for fundamental change.

The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity for all. We believe that Americans are bound together by a common commitment to these values and we aspire to ensure that our national policies reflect these values. We work to find progressive and pragmatic solutions to significant domestic and international problems and develop policy proposals that foster a government that is "of the people, by the people, and for the people."