FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 2, 2009

Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert Haynes Applauds Senator Edward Kennedy on the Creation of a Health Care Plan with a Quality Public Option

MALDEN, MA. ISSUED July 2, 2009....We commend Senator Edward Kennedy and other members of the Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee for their release of a comprehensive health care plan that will cut costs, cover 97 percent of Americans and provide a quality, affordable public option. An overwhelming number of Americans and citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts support comprehensive health care reform, and they know that a public plan option to increase competition with private, profit-driven insurance companies is the fairest way to do it. In addition, the full participation provisions for employers creates a shared responsibility structure, encouraging employers to retain their health benefits and discouraging them from taking advantage of subsidized coverage by shedding workers from their rolls.

The HELP Committee’s proposal addresses the key concerns of working families: holding down costs and making their coverage more secure, while not raising costs for those who have good coverage.

In Massachusetts we are particularly proud of the leadership of Senator Kennedy on this issue. This plan is yet another hallmark step forward in his nearly half a century of unmatched public service. Health care reform has been the signature cause of our Senator's life, and this plan further cements his legacy as the greatest champion for working families to ever serve in the U.S. Senate. No one will benefit more from the HELP committee's plan than working families, and no one will work harder with Senator Kennedy to make sure that the best provisions of the HELP plan are included in final legislation.

Families everywhere can be encouraged that their leaders are working to fulfill the promise of quality, affordable health care for all. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO joins the entire labor movement and workers around the nation in calling on the Senate to act swiftly in a bi-partisan manner and pass much-needed reform modeled after the plan put forth by Senator Kennedy and his colleagues on the HELP committee. We will work with Senator Kennedy and the Commonwealth's entire congressional delegation in urging Congress to get real health care reform onto the President's desk and signed into law, not just because of the moral imperatives, which have always been paramount, but also because of the economic imperatives. Our economy cannot rebound unless we alleviate the crushing weight of our current system on employers and working families alike. For these reasons, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO hopes Congress will act urgently and pass this much needed reform.

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