Ocean State Action celebrates
2nd Annual Health Care Policy Heroes!
Please Join Us to Honor
State Representative Ray Sullivan,
SEIU 1199,
and Nancy St. Germain
Guest Speakers to include:
Margarida Jorge, National Field Director for Health Care for America Now (HCAN), formerly of SEIU, AFSCME,
and Missouri ProVote
Jeff Blum, Executive Director of USAction
Monday, June 21st, 2010, 6PM - 8PM
Local 121, Providence
Get your tickets here.
Tell Congress: Protect Consumers and Hold the Big Wall Street Banks Accountable!
Call Senator Jack Reed Toll Free TODAY at 1-866-544-7573.
Tell Senator Reed to support financial reform that holds big Wall Street Banks accountable.
Historic health reform has passed! The bill is a victory for the American people:
- Insurance companies can no longer deny care for pre-existing conditions, charge you more if you’re sick, cap your benefits, sell you junk insurance, or raise rates with impunity.
- For the first time, Members of Congress will get their health insurance from the same system regular Americans do.
- Small business and working families will security and stability knowing they can afford good health insurance that meets their needs.
- 32 million uninsured Americans will get affordable coverage, saving over 30,000 lives per year.
Read an op-ed from a Rhode Island emergency physician explaining why we need reform.
Now write your own!
- Health Care Policy Heroes
- Flat Tax Repeal
- Finance Reform
- Health Care Reform
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Ocean State Action, as part of the Health Care for America Now campaign, released a new report today showing that consolidation in the private health insurance industry is creating skyrocketing premiums for both patients and employers. Rhode Island, where two insurance companies control 95 percent of the market, has the second-highest concentration among its top two insurers of any state in the country. The group said the report showed the need for Rhode Islanders and Rhode Island businesses to have the choice of a public insurance plan, and praised all four members of the state's congressional delegation for having endorsed such a plan as part of major health care reform.
See the full report here.
Health insurance premiums for Rhode Island working families have increased 83 percent from 2000 to 2007. At the same time, the median earnings of Rhode Island workers increased 17 percent, from $26,164 to $30,566. That means health insurance premiums for Rhode Island working families have risen 4.9 times faster than wages.
"When just a couple of companies hold a near-monopoly, they not only set the prices, but they also make the rules and call the shots," said Peter Asen, Associate Director of Ocean State Action. "Private health insurance companies have proven year after year they'll do whatever they want when left to their own devices. It's time for real comprehensive reform that includes regulation and the choice of a public health insurance plan so we are no longer at the mercy of the private health insurers in Rhode Island.""Our health care system is so complex, and costs so much, yet doesn't provide patients with the quality of care they desperately need," said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. "If we can make the system work better for everyone, we can cut costs, save lives, and improve the quality of the health care we receive - a critical step toward ensuring that all Americans have health care they can afford."
"We can no longer afford to rely on a system of fractured health coverage, limited choice and soaring costs." said Rep. Jim Langevin, who recently reintroduced the American Health Benefits Program Act, his universal health care plan. "The time has come for comprehensive reform that creates a truly inclusive, affordable and efficient health care model and guarantees coverage for all. I look forward to continuing to work with Ocean State Action and its HCAN partners as we work to achieve this crucial goal."
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Visit the Rhode Island Policy Reporter at What Cheer! for up-to-date policy analysis and reports.
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