Northeast Action Representative and MA-HCAN coalition leader Felix Arroyo explained how the health care situation in this country is in dire need of reform, as increasing numbers of citizens are uninsured, underinsured or in danger of losing their health insurance. Health costs are continually on the rise, and many people are forced to choose between paying for doctors visits or feeding their families. Unforeseen loopholes leave many families in the dust when a medical tragedy strikes – greatly limiting access to quality, affordable care. 

           

Speakers and representatives from many grassroots health advocacy organizations stressed the need for immediate reform of our health care system that achieves universal coverage and that includes a public health insurance option.

           

Mark Rukavina, Executive Director of the Access Project, which focuses on providing health access at the local community level, revealed that more than 1 in 4 adults in this country are in serious medical debt. It is time for overarching change on the national level to provide the basic right of health care to everyone, regardless of their pre-existing health issues, age or immigration status. Rukavina stressed that the only way to protect people from the abuse of private insurance companies is to include a public health care option that gives Americans a choice in coverage.

           

Also integral to any comprehensive health care reform package is the opportunity for all Americans to enroll in a public health option, including recent immigrants. Toby Guevin of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition stated that covering everyone, regardless of status, would improve health care overall, as hospital over-crowding would be lessened if immigrants were not forced to use the ER for primary care. Policies surrounding Medicaid access must also be amended. Currently, immigrants must wait five years before applying for Medicaid, which severely impinges on care for low income immigrant families.

           

Doctors and physicians feel first-hand the harmful consequences of the broken health care system. Sylvia Thompson, M.D., Chairwoman of the American Medical Student Association and now a practicing physician, has already seen tragic results of the current health care system severely failing individuals when these heartbreaks could have been prevented. She described a patient who had battled leukemia for years and was in remission when she was forced to choose between paying for at-home care and keeping her house. Choosing the latter, she passed away within two weeks due to a blood infection that could have been detected with at-home care. Many times, pregnant women come into the ER in labor having not seen a doctor during their pregnancy because costs and coverage bar them from access. These injustices have gone on for long enough, and immediate reform is needed to pick up the pieces from this broken system.

           

Boston City Councilor At-Large John Connolly, Chair of the Environment and Health Committee, stressed that even though Massachusetts has passed legislation reforming our state health care system, he has seen it failing at the local levels of government, especially for the underserved urban poor in Boston. Our state government needs national reform to reinforce the commitment we have already made to providing access to health care for all residents of the Commonwealth. Councilor Connolly offered an assurance that the entire City Council is committed to comprehensive health reform that includes a public health option, and that they will do everything they can to contribute their resources at the local level to further the health care reform movement.

           

The current health care system is failing not only patients, but providers, according to Norris Kamo, New England Regional Co-Director of Doctors for America. It will be necessary to restructure and re-strengthen primary care, and redesign the system so it is geared towards quality of care, not quantity.

           

Russ Davis, Executive Director of Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, urged those in attendance to recommit and get involved with the campaign for health care reform. Currently, 47 million people do not have health insurance, and the number one cause of bankruptcy in the nation is as a result of medical bills. He stressed we must remain dedicated to the fight for health care reform.

 

The National Health Care Day of Action was a huge success and a good start on the road to reform, but the real battle starts now with a true grassroots mobilization. We have seen the positive effects of local organization through the election of President Obama, and it’s time to rally to put his policy recommendations in place. Reach out locally to friends and neighbors and contact your representatives! Tell them you want a public health option that extends coverage to all residents in the United States.

 

To find out who your representatives are click here.

 

To visit HCAN’s website and find out more about the Labor Movement’s principles for health care reform, click here.

To read a story from the AFL-CIO blog about the massive rally in Washington, D.C., click here.