SEIU President Andy Stern issued this statement following the passage of health care reform in the U.S. Senate this morning:
“Today, under Senator Reid’s leadership, all sixty Senators of the Democratic caucus stood together to put the well being of the American people before Washington gridlock and partisan politics. With this historic vote, we stand closer today than ever before to delivering the type of health insurance reform people like Athena Jones and every American across this country deserve.
Athena, a personal care assistant in Virginia, provides care to people with physical or mental challenges. For her, this moment is truly life-changing. Athena’s employer – the state of Virginia – does not provide her insurance and she cannot afford individual coverage on the private market with her $9/hour salary. She could have taken another job with health insurance but that meant leaving her patients. And for her, that was not an option. Very soon, Athena and millions like her will have options. Â
But the question remains: how will the final chapter of history be written?
Now, the Senate, the House and the White House have an opportunity to deliver real reform, worthy of every Americans support. To reach that point, to make sure the President is able to sign the best bill possible, we must fight to strengthen health insurance reform by taking the strongest provisions from both bills, including House provisions that:
Make healthcare even more affordable for low and moderate income families through subsidies and stronger protections from out of pocket costs;
Guarantee greater accountability of the insurance industry;
Make sure employers aren’t rewarded for cutting workers’ hours to avoid paying their fair share;
And, it means not placing an additional burden on workers by taxing high-quality health insurance benefits.
These should not be progressive priorities or conservative priorities but American ideals that make clear every American should be able to afford the care they need, when they need it. And we will continue to work with Congress and the President to do right by Athena, people who go to sleep at night worrying about their savings or going broke, and for every other American who desperately need healthcare they can count on at a price they can afford.”
