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Not much love for health care bill from union leaders

Date Posted: January 8 2010

WASHINGTON (PAI) – Union leaders were lukewarm, at best, to the Senate’s version of health care, which lawmakers passed on Christmas Eve.

All unions, led by the AFL-CIO, vowed to campaign to pressure congressional negotiators to adopt the stronger House health care bill.

Senators approved the 2,700-page legislation, which would affect everyone in the U.S. and one-sixth of the economy, by a 60-39 party-line vote at 7 a.m., after marathon debate forced by the 40 Republicans.  All 58 Democrats and two independents who caucus with the Democrats voted for it.  All but one Republican voted against it: Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Kentucky, was absent.

The legislation imposes new curbs, in several years, on insurance companies, including outlawing their common practices of denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, denial of payments for care and ejection of policyholders when they get sick.  It requires everyone, except for undocumented workers, to buy insurance, and provides subsidies for those who can’t afford it.

But the Senate bill taxes 40% of the value of all existing health insurance policies worth more than $8,500 for an individual or $23,000 for a family.  It has no cost controls and lacks a “public option” – a key labor cause, designed to provide competition to the insurers, along with their high co-pays, deductibles and premiums.

IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill has joined forces with the Communications Workers of America and the CEOs of the two top major telecommunications firms to oppose the provision in the Senate’s health-care reform bill that would levy a tax on existing health care plans.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid jointly signed by Communication Workers President Larry Cohen, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, the group writes: “If (the provision) was intended to address only excessive or luxury health benefits plans, it will, in fact, impact the health plans covering tens of millions of workers, including those in telecommunications, manufacturing, construction, mining, public sectors….”

At least one union, the 150,000-member National Nurses United, blasted the Senate bill as a giveaway to the insurance companies.  In an interview on Air America, Steelworkers President Leo Gerard, was caustic about how the insurers bought lawmakers’ support.

Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Thomas Harkin, D-Iowa, promised the public option would be revisited in future legislation.  President Obama praised the Senate vote – and gave the back of his hand to the public option.

The deficiencies in the bill prompted a lukewarm reaction from AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka and other union leaders.

“The labor movement has been fighting for health care for nearly 100 years and we are not about to stop fighting now, when it really matters,” Trumka said. “But for this health care bill to be worthy of the support of working men and women, substantial changes must be made. The AFL-CIO intends to fight on behalf of all working families to make those changes and win health care reform that is deserving of the name.  The absolute refusal of Republicans in the Senate to support health care reform and the hijacking of the bill by defenders of the insurance industry have brought us a Senate bill that is inadequate: It is too kind to the insurance industry.

“Genuine health care reform must bring down health costs, hold insurance companies accountable, assure Americans can get the health care they need and be financed fairly.  That’s why we are championing a public health insurance option: It is the way to break the stranglehold of the insurance industry over consumers that has led to double digit premium increases virtually every year.  Employers must pay their fair share.

“And the benefits of hard-working Americans cannot be taxed to pay for health care reform – that’s no way to rein in insurance companies and it’s the wrong way to pay for health care reform.  Those are the changes for which we will be fighting in the coming days.”

A statement to his members by Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern said “SEIU does not accept that this monumental effort…can be over without a fight. A fight to make it work for you and your families.  We held a meeting with our international executive board…We talked about everything that makes this reform meaningful…but we also recognized, that like you, we have concerns. It is becoming clearer that for many people, care will still be too expensive to afford, that some of you would face an additional burden because your health insurance benefits would be taxed, and the best way we saw possible to hold insurance companies accountable was no longer an option.”