National Nurses United

NewsBriefs_MAy 6/2/11 3:11 PM Page 6 NEWS BRIEFS NNU Supports Federal Bill to Create National Healthcare System NATIONAL ed up with Band-Aid fixes that still leave insurance companies and other corporations in charge of our healthcare system, National Nurses United nurses cheered on May 10 when Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont and Rep. Jim McDermott from Washington introduced the American Health Security Act of 2011, a bill that would create a national single-payer healthcare program. Under the act, each participating state sets up and administers comprehensive healthcare services as an entitlement for all through a progressively financed, singlepayer system, as administered by the states. Benefits emphasize primary and preventive care, and free choice of providers. Private health insurance sold by for-profit companies continues only as supplemental coverage. Employers would be relieved of the burden of healthcare administration under the new law. The act is known as S 915 in the Senate, and HR 1200 in the House of Representatives. "Providing a single standard of highquality care for all is a priority for registered nurses who have seen their abilities to act as patient advocates deteriorate as for-profit interests control more patient care decisions," said Jean Ross, a Minnesota RN and a copresident of National Nurses United. "We commend Senator Sanders and Representative McDermott for their vision." Ross' own family members have suffered as a result of profit-driven, corporate healthcare: her son recently muddled through three years without health insurance even though he was working multiple part-time jobs, and her youngest daughter's family has been saddled with thousands of dollars in medical bills for treating common illnesses, even though she carries insurance. "It's just that the coverage is so lousy," said Ross. More than 51 million Americans are uninsured, or more than 1 out of every 6 Americans. Four million people joined the F 6 N AT I O N A L N U R S E ranks of the uninsured between 2008 and 2009 alone. The American Health Security Act of 2011 is supported by NNU and its affiliate unions, the Labor Caucus for Single-Payer and its member unions, the Labor Campaign for Single-Payer, and the AFL-CIO. —Staff report What Are We Waiting For? Patients start lining up at 1:30 in the afternoon just for the chance to be seen by a doctor, dentist, or optometrist at a free medical clinic starting 5:30 a.m. the next day. Is this some third-world country? In terms of healthcare, yes, it is. It's the United States. It's Knoxville, Tenn. It's Wise County, Va. It's Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Oakland, Calif. NNU did video interviews with some of the people in line to learn about their situations and why they were reduced to camping out overnight in the bitter cold for medical care. What we concluded is that there is no good reason these working people should have to wait when we could all just agree to establish a national, single-payer system by extending Medicare to everyone. The only obstacle is the greed and power of insurance companies. Basically, the wait is over when we say it is. Support the American Health Security Act of 2011. Watch the videos on our channel at www.youtube.com/nationalnursesunited. Maria Maria and her husband run a souvenir shop at the San Francisco Pier, but business is down and they can no longer afford the $1,500 premiums for herself and her family. She's uninsured and hasn't seen a doctor in more than four years, despite previously having had uterine cancer. Though she is worried about herself, she said she is also worried about the children and elderly people she sees camped out in line. Joseph Laid off two years ago, Joseph cannot afford health insurance and is waiting in line to see an eye specialist. He finds his situation particularly ironic because he spent 10 years of his career working for health insurance companies: two years at Health Net and eight years at Blue Cross, where he was a senior outreach specialist W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G dealing with providers. "'Big Business' are the words to describe healthcare in America, where if you have no money, you have no healthcare," said Joseph. "Having worked for a healthcare company myself, I know how they function and I know that the bottom line is profit, always." Jasmine Jasmine is a student who doesn't receive financial aid but has a lot of financial responsibilities. She is uninsured because she simply can't afford health insurance. She started waiting in line at 1:30 p.m. Her grandmother, mother, and pregnant sister are also uninsured and waiting in line. "At first, it seemed a little crazy because I knew it was going to be cold tonight and to wait for so many hours to get healthcare?" she said, shivering. "I just bit the bullet and came because I knew I needed it." She wondered why Americans didn't have national health coverage like Canadians. "If it works for them, why can't it work for us?" M AY 2 0 1 1

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