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of Uninsured Rising; AFL-CIO March 7, 2003 Its not news to even casual current events observers that health care in the United States is in crisis. The rising number of uninsured Americans has reached an alarming 41 million and health care continues to be the most dominant issue in contract negotiations. But as the economic downturn claims more jobs in the form of layoffs, the problems are exacerbated for working Americans. A national report finds that nearly one in three non-elderly Americans has been without health insurance during the past two years. And 80 percent of those 74.7 million uninsured are working people who were without health insurance for six months or more. "The unconscionable state of health care in this country is something we should be deeply ashamed about," said IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill. Even more alarming is that three out of the four largest states in the country had uninsured rates of more than a third, including Texas (39.9 percent of the population under the age of 65 were uninsured), New Mexico (38.6 percent), Louisiana (36.0 percent) California (35.5 percent) and Florida (33.8 percent). A report with a state-by-state breakdown is available at http://www.coveringtheuninsured.org/. The report was released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in advance of the Covering the Uninsured Week March 10-16. Co-chaired by former Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, the campaign aims to raise awareness of the plight of the uninsured with 500 events across the country. Event sponsors include the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "Unfortunately being uninsured in America is a very common and very risky experience," said Risa Lavizzo-Maurey, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "By not having health insurance, even for a short period of time, the uninsured are putting their physical and financial health in jeopardy."
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AFL-CIO Report: Working Families Hurt By Bush Policies... January 29, 2003President Bush fires another shot at unemployed workers ... November 1, 2001Covering The Uninsured... Organization Web site |
