Health Coverage Declines But Companies’ Profits Soar
The number of working-age Americans who get their health care coverage through work dropped for the ninth year in a row in 2009, according to a new study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The main reason, says the report, is the lousy economy and an unemployment rate that jumped from 5.8 percent in 2008 to 9.3 in 2009.
The latest figures show that employment-based health insurance fell from 61.9 percent of workers in 2008 to 58.9 percent in 2009. Says Elise Gould, Director of Health Policy Research at EPI and author of the report:
The current recession and its negative impact on access to health care highlight how dependent Americans are on a healthy labor market for all facets of economic security.
The report points out that the new health care reform law will make it easier and more affordable for Americans to secure and maintain health insurance coverage. But the “continued poor labor market will likely lead to”
further losses in insurance coverage before this major relief takes effect in 2014.
Click here for the full report.
The lousy economy hasn’t had much of an impact on six of the nation’s biggest private health insurance companies which saw their profits increase by 22 percent over last year in the quarter that ended in September, according to a new analysis by Health Care for America Now! (HCAN). Read the rest of this entry »
Air Traffic Controllers Help You Avoid Airline Delays
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Here’s a way to avoid delays at the airport when you head off for vacation this summer. The Air Traffic Controllers (NATCA) reminds travelers about the union’s great site: http://AvoidDelays.com.
Launched in 2006, AvoidDelays.com is the first tool of its kind to help the flying public. Using a mix of historical and live flight data directly from the Department of Transportation, the website provides information on which airports have a history of delays and how to get avoid getting stuck in an airport when you really would rather be on the beach or touring a European capital.
The site has continued to be a great resource, whether you have already purchased your ticket or are waiting to find the best deal. It’s user-friendly and provides an interactive function that allows travelers to check rankings before they book a flight and check flight status on the day they fly.
House Set to Act Fast Now that Senate Finally Passed Jobless Aid Extension
BREAKING: The U.S. House of Representatives this afternoon passed the unemployment insurance extension bill, by a 403-12 vote. The bill is on its way to President Barack Obama who could sign it as early as tomorrow.
After weeks of Republican stalling and obstruction that cost hundreds of thousands of jobless workers their unemployment insurance (UI)—the Senate last night approved extending UI to workers who have lost or will lose their benefits by the end of the year.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) promised to move quickly—as early as today—to ensure a House vote on the bill so President Obama can sign the legislation and get the checks moving again. Said Hoyer last night:
For too long, Senate Republicans blocked progress on extending unemployment insurance, which would provide immediate and tangible help to those who need it most, while also boosting our economy. Democrats remain focused on doing everything we can to assist Americans struggling to make ends meet and extending unemployment benefits is part of that effort. Now that this legislation has passed the Senate, I will bring it to the House Floor for a vote.
Dear Senator: Please Support Public Option and Save My Life
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Today, state and local union activists are continuing to deliver the more than 42,000 personally written letters from union members and Working America members calling on Congress to pass comprehensive health care reform legislation.
The letters are part of a massive nationwide week of health care action. Union leaders and activists are spending two days in Washington, D.C., delivering the letters and talking with their senators and representatives about the need for strong health care reform legislation that provides guaranteed coverage for all, includes a public health insurance option and more.
Yesterday, working Americans across the country took part in the National Call-In Day for Health Care Reform, sending their senators strong messages.
Teabaggers: ‘Their Intent Is to Stop Conversation’
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The orchestrated, handbook-guided extremist disruptions of town hall meetings on health care reform being held by members of Congress are turning into “a series of shout-downs and freak-outs,” says Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo.
“…something resembling right-wing performance art. [It's] a well-orchestrated national effort to mobilize teabaggers to go and shut down these town hall events with raucous demonstrations and generally making it impossible for the members of Congress to talk.”
“Teabaggers” refers to the fact that many of the groups behind the manipulated chaos are the same outfits that staged the phony grassroots “Tea Party” tax protests earlier this year. Then, as now, Fox News and other right-wing media outfits are trying to portray the actions as genuine revolts. Many of staged tax “protest” events drew just a handful of people, but closeup camera angles and breathless, fawning coverage seriously exaggerated the scope of the protests.
