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In South Dakota, Kim’s brother Kent hadn’t seen a doctor in years because he couldn’t afford health insurance and certainly couldn’t pay the doctor’s bill out of his own pocket. By the time his bladder cancer was diagnosed in 2003, it was too late. Kent died less than two years later.
Kim was one of the first people who responded to the AFL-CIO and Working America’s 2008 Health Care for America Survey that asks working families about their experiences with the nation’s health care system. We released the survey to a group of union and community activists yesterday—and it already has generated nearly 2,000 responses and more than 500 personal stories of how the nation’s health care system has failed workers and their families. (You can vote on stories you think make the most impact here.)
Today, we’re rolling out the survey nationwide. With the 2008 election campaign in full swing and poll after poll showing that voting Americans say health care is one of the most important issues facing the country today, the survey will put a working families’ face on the raw numbers reflected in the polls.
The survey offers a unique opportunity for you to make your voice heard on the cost of health insurance, quality of health care, access to prescription drugs, solutions to the wide array of health care problems we all face—and impress upon candidates just how important health care is as a voting issue in 2008. Along with specific questions on affordability and quality, experiences with insurance companies, hospitals and doctors and suggested remedies, the survey also gives you the chance to tell your own story.
The survey runs through February and results will be given to the presidential, congressional, state and local candidates to ensure that candidates at every level will understand what working families are experiencing. (Check out a comparison of the 2008 presidential candidates’ health care proposals here.)
Here are just a few excerpts from the survey responses we’ve received so far.
Rose in Kentucky has seen her costs climb:
I have to pay my insurance myself and it has raised every year even if I have never used it. I finally had to go to a cheaper policy and now I need the other coverage. I have to have surgery and it is going to cost me a lot of money and I can not afford it. It makes you not even want to go to the doctor.
In Washington State, Keri’s insurance company dragged its feet approving treatment for a heart condition:
I was diagnosed with a serious heart condition at the age of 24. I was scared to death and thought for sure that it was over for me. In the midst of this personal crisis, I was sent home from the clinic with a generic warning to call the ambulance if I feel like there is an elephant on my chest! While I waited almost a month for the insurance company to process the request to see a cardiologist, my life was crumbling. I couldn’t sleep because I was scared I wasn’t going to wake up. Not only was I disgusted at the insurance company for making me wait, but also that I get a very limited choice of doctors that I am covered to see. The quality of care is less than average at best.
Noal, in Arkansas, writes:
I have talked to a man who is eligible to retire after over 30 years of service. He cannot retire because his health insurance would cost over $1,200.00 per month. He is not in good health.
From California, Laurel has this to say about insurance companies:
I have been fighting healthcare insurance for 30 years. It just goes on and on and on….I am always fighting to get a claim processed, get a bill paid, get something covered. And don’t get me started on CEO compensation. Are Americans this stupid not to fight for universal healthcare?
Christa in Kentucky sums up a problem that millions of uninsured workers face:
I do not have health insurance because my employer does not provide it and I do not make enough to purchase it myself.
Click here to take the survey and read the stories from other working families and here to find out more about the health care crisis in America.
6 Comments
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The time for soul-searching has passed. The need is great and the hour is late. Every year over 20,000 people die here in the land of milk and honey because they cannot afford the medical treatment or the prescription drugs they need to stay alive. 20,000 every year! What’s more, 50 million residents of the U.S. lack medical coverage. Tens of millions of others struggle to keep whatever coverage they have. It’s time for labor itself, as an institution steeped in a tradition of advocacy for the 90% of us who comprise blue collar America, to FORCEFULLY take the lead.
All of the sad, tragic circumstances from the stories in the article above would be resolved if HR 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act became the law of the land. (Go to UFHC.org for more information on HR 676.)
There is no good excuse for not supporting HR 676. Why, then, isn’t labor absolutely united on this issue? Why are some labor “leaders” down-playing HR 676? HR 676 is the solution to our nation’s health care woes, and to the very memberships that labor leaders pledge to repreasent..
Politicians and labor “leaders” who fail to support HR 676 should also fail to get re-elected.
It is my fervent hope that every person who authored one of the stories in the article - and the tens of millions of souls with unpublished tales of tragedy – will flood Congress and the offices of their unions with demands to enact HR 676.
The time for soul-searching has passed. Now it’s time to take action!
38 years ago I had Blue Cross and Blue Shield. I had to pay for Doctor visits but it only cost $10 to $15 dollars per visit and if I was hurting for money my Doctor would say don’t worry about it if you can’t pay this time. Some times he would just take $5 .
The next contract we got had inprovments in Health Care, the Contract after that we got to choose an HMO if we so desired. The next contract after that we had 4 choices and 3 HMOs, the next Contract 6 choices and 4 HMOs. Then things started going down hill, back to 4 choices, then 2 choice, then I retired I hope that I could keep my HMO because I only has a 10 dollar copay.
Well now for the first time in our Unions History, the Retirees get less health care than the Rank-in-File. I am forced to pay $60 or $80 every time I visit the Doctor, whereas the Rank-in-File get the first 5 yearly visits Free. It is a sad day indeed for both Retirees and Rank-in-File. Our Union Leaders must do better. We should have stayed out on strike at least 8 to 10 weeks like the Screen Writers did. If our Union Leaders had any spine, we would still have our HMOs.
I urge the AFL-CIO to mandate that all its member Unions committ to the premis that all Retirees be given the same health care options as the Rank-in-File and that they also commit to supporting only those Candidates who support Universal Health Care.
That is my story. Please post it.
My family and I were covered for years by the multi-employer health and welfare plan alliliated with the Teamsters union. Only when I was retired and no longer enrolled in this plan did I realize what a boon this was to us. Even many good employer plans don’t come close to the great coverage my plan offered. While I’m now on Medicare and supply my own supplemental insurance, I am so grateful for the many years of great coverage I enjoyed under the Teamsters plan.
I agree with democratic socalist,many are to blame for our health care problems,union leadership as well as government and this is not the only issue that they have failed on.Many times I have wondered which is the greater evil,business or the AFL-CIO.At least with the company you expect a screwing.
676 can become a reality if we can get all members in Congress to endorse it. HR 676 currently has 87 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers.
31 state AFL-CIOs have endorsed it, why does the National sit on its hands?
354 union organizations in 48 states including 94 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations have thrown their support for a single payer health care system.
Until at least 100 members in the House co-sponsor, Queen Pelosi will never get the bill out of committee and bring it out to the floor for a vote.
Now Obama has said he supports a single payer system.
We must keep the pressure on Congress, educate our neighbors, co-workers, and get them to contact their Reps. in Washington.
I am tired of paying top dollar for coverage and getting zilch in return. Every year premiums go up and the excuse by the industry is medical costs escalate. BULL! They set the rates, and the CEOs get richer!
in 1991 I was unable to work due to a disability. My union health care ran out, and since I worked all my life, I was placed on Medicare, which would take effect 1 YEAR after I applied. If I had never worked, I would have been eligible for Medicaid immediately. Blow 1 to the working class. I was awarded Vocational Rehabilitation, and moved to Flagstaff, AZ to complete my program. soon after I arrived to Flagstaff I discovered there were NO health care providers there that accepted Medicare (unless the person was over 65 years old). I found myself unable to work, disabled, and to use my Medicare, I had to travel about 150 miles to Phoenix! Blow 2 to the working. fortunately, since I was a full time student I could use the university health clinic for minor illnesses/injuries. Fortunately, I returned to the workforce and am extremely grateful for my UNION health plan!