Unions in the thick of health care reform effort

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/letters/index.php?ntid=124025&ntpid=2

David Newby: Unions in the thick of health care reform effort
A letter to the editor

Dear Editor: The Capital Times says "Unions should lead on health" and, in fact, we are.

The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO has led the nation in developing the Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan, which would provide comprehensive, affordable, quality-driven health care to just about every resident of our state.

And the national AFL-CIO leadership recently passed a health care policy that renews labor's call for a universal plan of health care coverage for the entire country.

In that policy, we call for a comprehensive solution to the health care crisis and reject the inaction and piecemeal approach of the past 15 years.

One approach that meets our test would be a national plan based on the success of Medicare in providing coverage for the elderly, noting among other things the shared responsibility formula for financing Medicare; the power of a population-wide purchasing system to deal with providers of care, physicians and drug companies; and the fact that Medicare's administrative costs are a small fraction of those in private insurance plans.

We need to make sure, however, that providers are paid fairly for their services, not severely underpaid under Medicare as they are in Wisconsin today.

All employers should participate in financing such coverage. After all, we must reduce the burden on employers who are doing the right thing and now provide good health benefits in the face of harsh competition domestically and in the global marketplace. Employers, government and individuals must share responsibility for health coverage.

Our policy calls on unions to work with employers to enact such a plan, pledges the full resources of the AFL-CIO to campaign for it, and commits to using it as the standard by which we will evaluate the health care proposals of candidates for president in 2008.

Our country is looking for strong leadership to ensure us of health care coverage and relieve anxiety over costs. Working as a united front with our allies, we will push the public policy debate toward a comprehensive solution.

David Newby, president, Wisconsin State AFL-CIO

Published: March 16, 2007