(Monday) December 21, 2009
Bill is first step in improving the lives of millions of Americans
In light of the Senate vote on December 20 to move healthcare reform forward, Tenants and Workers United released the following statement.
“The Senate vote brings us closer to affordable quality healthcare for millions of Americans and a time where no one goes broke because they can’t afford health insurance. We fully expect the final bill to go further by creating a robust public option and expanding access to Medicare and Medicaid benefits,” says Tenicka Boyd, Health Care Organizer for Tenants and Workers United.
“The debate on health care is a piece of the larger fight for human rights. We applaud Senator Warner and Senator Webb’s efforts thus far to move the conversation forward and substitute the placeholder bill with the Senate Patient Affordability and Protection Act. The strengths of this bill are critical consumer protections provided by programs to restrain health costs and make insurance policies more affordable, greater accountability for health insurance companies, improved choice and competition, and better access to quality affordable health care for vulnerable populations.”
“We thank our Senators for their hard work and ask them to keep pushing so that the final bill protects all Virginians. The current bill expands Medicare to 133% of the poverty level which means that a family of four must earn less than $28,000 per year – an improvement that still leaves a lot of working people out of the equation. We urge Congress to pass a bill that protects working people with a public option and increased access to Medicare and Medicaid.”
Tenants and Workers United is a regional community organization that is actively engaged, locally and nationally, in finding solutions to access to healthcare for everyone in our community regardless of age, gender, pre-existing conditions, immigration status, and income.
To schedule interviews with Tenants and Workers United spokespeople including the Health Care Organizer or directly affected people, contact Lucero at 703-684-5697*313 or lbeebe-giudice@tenantsandworkers.org.