Washington State Leads the Way in Home- and Community-Based Long-Term Care

Monday, March 29

$1.1 billion was included in the Health Care Reform bill to encourage other states to follow our lead – pay home care workers to let seniors and people with disabilities stay in their homes and communities.

Our state has a model home- and community-based care long-term care policy and our 38,000 home care workers can serve as a model for home care workers elsewhere.

Senator Maria Cantwell, who pushed to have this money included in the bill told the [Vancouver] Columbian, “We did this in the Legislature to allow the state to be more flexible. We were trying as a state to say, ‘How do we fix some of our long-term health care costs?”

Now, thanks to the Health Care Reform bill passed last week, other states will have the opportunity to follow our lead.

---

Don't Let Attorney General Rob McKenna Block Health Care Reform

Thursday, March 25

Just thirty minutes after President Obama signed health care reform into law, Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna filed a lawsuit to block it. Click here to sign a petition telling him NOT to sacrifice our health for partisan politics.

Passing Health Care Reform will:

• Make insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history;
• Give tens of millions of Americans the exact same insurance choices that members of Congress have;
• Bring greater accountability to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care;
• End discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions; and
• Allow children to remain on their parent's coverage - up to age 26.

So far, 10,000 people statewide have signed a petition urging him to drop the lawsuit. Click here to add your name to the petition. We need to send a powerful message to McKenna and the state that he should drop the suit - and that he doesn't represent the people of Washington in this matter - when we deliver the signatures on Friday.

Rob McKenna is abusing the resources and authority of his elected office to pursue a partisan political agenda that traps all of us in a broken health care system.

---

Health Care Reform - Yes, We Did!

Monday, March 22

Last night's vote is one of the most important achievements by the U.S. Congress in a generation. And we made it happen.
Thousands of activists like you made calls this week - and it paid off. Rep. Brian Baird was an undecided vote - up till yesterday. when he received thousands of phone calls from SEIU members and other health care activists. Baird is just one example of how our phone calls, emails, petitions and in-person meetings made a difference.

What's next? The House bill heads to the President's desk for signature, while the Senate will seek improvements to the bill with a package of amendments. In other words, we're not finished on health care reform - but we're getting close. And you made it all possible.

What does this mean to you and me? It means that health care reform is on its way toward final passage. It means that immediately upon passage, we'll be protected from many of the worst offenses by health insurers.

This is about winning control over our own health care choices - for families, small businesses, people with so-called "pre-existing conditions," and for our kids. Think about it - we made history!

Passing Health Care Reform will:

• Make insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history;
• Give tens of millions of Americans the exact same insurance choices that members of Congress have;
• Bring greater accountability to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care;
• End discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions; and
• Allow children to remain on their parent's coverage - up to age 26.

---

Sharon Kitchel-Perdue Attends Health Care Affordability Summit in Washington, DC

January 15, 2010 -- Fifty 50 SEIU members from across the country – including our very own Sharon Kitchel-Perdue (right) - attended a Health Care Affordability Summit in Washington, DC this week, as part of a nation-wide day of action sponsored by SEIU and other grassroots, faith, labor, consumer and civil rights organizations.

Activists and leaders gathered on Capitol Hill to demonstrate solidarity on this critical issue and build support for common sense efforts to meld the best affordability provisions from the House and Senate bills into the final version.

Click here to see other photos from the event.

Click here for more details.

---

Take the Pledge - Make Health Care Reform a Reality

72 Hours is All We'll Get

This month, folks in Washington are deciding how much you'll be spending on health care. The White House is working with Congressional leaders to hammer out the final health care bill, and what's in your wallet is on the line.

This is our last opportunity to improve this legislation. It's a window that will likely open and close over the course of 72 hours, and during that time, we must all take action. Click here to and pledge to do your part

We'll be fighting for the following improvements to the bill:

• Make health care affordable
• Hold insurers accountable for their practices
• Don't finance reform on the backs of cash-strapped working families

We're monitoring progress on the health care bill, and will alert pledge-takers when we start the clock on 72 hours of SEIU member voices. You can expect it to happen sometime in the next 2-3 weeks. Pledge online today. This will be our last chance.

---

Seniors to Seniors - Informing Health Reform

When it comes to health care reform, it may seem like there are more questions than answers: Will my doctor still take Medicare? How will prescription drug coverage change? Is long-term care part of the proposal? And like any political hot topic, unbiased information is hard to find. This video provides a clear and concise overview of health reform and what it means for you.

As you watch, you’ll discover how health reform will:

• Keep physicians in Medicare and stop payment cuts.
• Improve long-term care choices.
• Keep Medicare affordable and close the doughnut hole.

This video was produced by Seniors to Seniors - a coalition of senior citizen advocacy organizations (including SEIU) all committed to educating seniors about what the current health care reform legislation means for them once it is implemented. The coalition’s goal is to help filter through the clutter and the hype to educate seniors about how health care reform will help keep doctors in Medicare, stop physician payment cuts, improve long-term care choices, keep Medicare affordable, and close the prescription drug “doughnut hole.”

---

It's Time to Deliver

We've waited long enough.

Right now, everyone is paying for the cost of our broken health care system.

People with "pre-existing conditions" are being denied coverage by insurers.
 
Women are being charged 30-51% more than men for the same health insurance policies. Newborn babies are being denied coverage because they're "too fat" or "too small."

And a jaw-dropping 44,000 people a year are dying because they lack health insurance. How much longer will Americans need to wait before Congress acts?

Today, we're sending our message loud and clear - that it's time to deliver on health care.

SEIU members are joining with voters across the country in calling Congress today, October 20th. Our union has a vibrant presence in Washington, and we've been hard at work lobbying for this legislation, but we're powerless without the participation of our membership.

Make three calls (two Senators, one Representative), and tell your members of Congress you expect reform that:

• Ends insurance company abuse;
• Makes health care affordable for everyone;
• Includes a strong public health insurance option;
• Requires employers to pay their fair share;
• Does not contain taxes or more costs to working families who are already paying more than their fair share into the system.

Call each of your members of Congress today. We can't let insurance companies dictate what happens in Congress, because when they win, we lose.

---

Video: Members Lobbying for Quality, Affordable Health Care in Washington, DC

On June 25, our union sent a delegation to Washington, DC to lobby for health care reform.

Watch them talk about their stories and why they believe we all deserve quality, affordable health care.

---