Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced in a Capitol Hill press conference today that he will send a health care reform bill to the Senate floor that includes a public option. States will have until 2014 to decide if they want to participate in the public plan. Reid said he was optimistic that health …
When Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) suggested she would block health care reform if it included a public option, Maine workers took action: The Maine AFL-CIO put its convention on hold so attendees could call her and tell her that a public option is essential to make reform work. (Recent polls in Maine suggest Mainers strongly …
Maine Union Members Tell Snowe to Support a Public Option, and More Health Care News Read More »
Today, the Senate Finance Committee voted on two amendments from Senators Schumer and Rockefeller to add a public health insurance option to the Baucus Bill. Both of those amendments were defeated, 8-15 and 10-13 respectively. In a long debate on the amendments, Senators spoke out vigorously in favor of the idea. Rockefeller exhorted his colleagues …
What Today’s Vote on the Public Option in the Senate Finance Committee Means Read More »
The Senate Finance Committee’s health care reform proposal released this morning falls far short of the comprehensive reform that would provide working families with the quality and affordable health they desperately need, say health care advocates. In a statement this morning, outgoing AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says the bill “fails to meet the most basic …
Baucus Bill Is Far Short of Real Health Care Reform Read More »
(The following post is part of our Taking Back Labor Day blog series. Many people view Labor Day as just another day off from work, the end of summer, or a fine day for a barbecue. We think that it’s a holiday with a rich history, and an excellent occasion to examine what workers, and …
As Obama Speech Fires Up Base, Insurance CEOs Emerge As New ‘Villains’ Read More »
Senator Kennedy’s legacy cannot be defined within one issue, no matter how important. But it would not be an understatement to say that his life’s work revolved around health care for all. He said so himself, calling it “the cause of [his] life” in a passionate Newsweek op-ed published just last month. True to form, …
In the coming days, many great eulogies of Ted Kennedy will be written. Many will offer personal anecdotes about what a great man he was. I do not intend to write one here. I have no great anecdotes or personal stories to tell about how Ted Kennedy directly touched my life. I meet the man …
On the Death of My Older Brother, Jeremy, and Ted Kennedy Read More »
The active participation of union members is changing the tone of the health care reform town hall meetings going on now during the August congressional recess. What began as forums for anti-Obama propaganda are now becoming platforms for real debate over what kind of reform is needed. Much of the credit goes to union members …
Workers ‘Becoming Backbone’ of Health Care Reform Effort Read More »
Washington Post’s Daily Dose Blog adds more fuel to the health care reform debate: You might have known that insurers can deny health coverage based on preexisting medical conditions, but here’s something else to worry about: They can take away the coverage you thought you had when actually need it, the government says. The Department …
Healthcare Insurers: I Think the Appropriate Word is “Disturbing” Read More »
According to Paul Krugman, that’s the unofficial rallying cry of the conservative opposition to health care reform. Across the country, much of the oxygen in the debate is sucked up by the tragic irony of Medicare recipients speaking out against a government takeover of health care. If the misinformation swamps our chances of overhauling the …
Don’t Let Government Get Its Hands on Healthcare Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
